


Deviate

by FireFly18



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-11-26 06:08:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20925431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFly18/pseuds/FireFly18
Summary: There's a lot that can happen in Detroit...





	1. Chapter 1

Thirium dripped onto a cold stone floor, pooled and spread like an ocean as the smoke cleared from the assault on Jehrico. The redness pouring from my own body must have mixed with the blue at some point. The screams that had once echoed with the pounding footsteps had dulled into a haze, swimming through my senses. There were arms around me, pulling my torso up and holding me. A hand cupped the back of my head, fingers spread and grasping without being too tight. I found the strength within me to open my eyes, it felt like prying lead apart, and he was looking down at me. That face which had been stoic as long as I had known him was desperate, pained, his expression screwed up in what could only be described as panic. He seemed to be moving slowly, or... was my sight impaired? He was saying something... 

"... please... stay with... bin... MARKUS!" he called for Markus, his head turning, and everything went dark again, but I felt myself being lifted before I lost my senses completely.

*******

We'd been here for longer than it should have taken. The android was not to be approached until the negotiator arrived. It was too dangerous. We had already lost two men trying to approach him. He was belligerent, desperate almost... And as I stood there thinking about what our next move should be, I heard Johnson over the radio. 

"Negotiator on site. Repeat, negotiator on site." 

My shoulders slumped in relief. Good. The sooner we could get him out there, the sooner we could get the girl away from the android. I and Officer Harris walked over to the girl's mother, who had been hysterical up until that point, and I took her hand. "Ma'am, we need to get you out of here." 

She looked at me and snatched her hand back. "No! I won't leave here! You can't!" she exclaimed. I shook my head.

"Ma'am, our negotiator is here, and we need you safe so we can put our focus on your daughter, please come with us." She looked to the balcony door and her face crumbled. We both held her and walked her to the entrance hallway. Once she realized we were moving, she tried to pull back again, but we continued pulling her so we could get her away from the danger.

"No, stop... I... I... I can't leave her." she sobbed as we led her into the hallway. She turned her head and she gasped when she spotted the negotiator, the RK800 we had sent for. She stumbled over to him, her tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, oh, please, please, you gotta save my little girl..." She grabbed his arms and looked up to his face. She stopped and looked down to his jacket, recoiling in disgust and fear, "Wait..." she stepped back, "You're sending an android?"

"Alright, ma'am. We need to go." Harris said taking her arm once more. She pulled back against his grip, shaking her head.

"You can't... you can't do that! You w-" She seemed to give up her fight as he pulled her away. "Why aren't you sending a real person?" she cried. "Don't let that thing near her!" I followed the two of them to the door to make sure she didn't break away. "Keep that thing away from my daughter! KEEP IT AWAY!" she screamed as I shut the door behind the two of them. I hoped that Harris could handle her, but we needed everyone we could, so I stayed. I approached the android once more and I paused. He was kneeling down, picking up once of the fish that had pulled out of the tank by the rush of water when it was broken. I frowned in curiosity and continued watching him as he stood up and put the fish into the remaining water in the tank, watching as it swam off. I could have been mistaken, but I swore I saw a small smile. I shook my head and approached him. I may have been the detective on site, but being so new I was not prepared to handle this kind of negotiation. 

I approached him and when he stood and turned to me I was ashamed to be startled. He was... rather handsome. But I internally shook my head. "This way," I said quickly. There was no room for thoughts like that right then. A child's life was on the line. "Captain Allen is over there." I directed him to where the Captain stood, though I was sure I didn't need to, as he was already walking that way. I returned to my position, watching the girl and making sure that everything was going the best way it could go. 

"Why are we wasting time sending an android to negotiate?! That piece of crap could jump from the rooftop any second." the Captain grimaced from his position, glaring at his phone. He rolled his eyes. "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" he snapped. "My men are ready to step in, hell, we've got one of your damn detectives. Just give the order!" He ended the call and he nearly threw the phone. "Fuck!" he snarled. "I don't believe this..." I shook my head and returned to my task. Behind me, I could hear the two of them talking, well, the RK800 was talking, and Allen was more or less snarling in return. Through the conversation, I heard his name. Connor... interesting. Once they finished talking, the android began walking around the room, looking through the evidence. He seemed to be rather thorough, which was good for the situation at hand.

I got lost in my thoughts for the time being, and I kicked myself for it when gunshots shattered the air and I jumped back, falling to the ground in my shock. 

"Holy shit! Cover me while I evacuate him!" I didn't know where the voice came from, who spoke it, I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present.

"Man down! I repeat, man down! Requesting immediate evac!" I looked over and saw the officer that had been hit, he was young, I remembered that much. He grabbed onto the officer that had spoken and they got away from the scene quickly. And there was the android, watching the event. His face was expressionless, surveying the scene around him. He continued exploring the room after a brief moment.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." I breathed a sigh of relief. The young officer was alright. It was probably a flesh wound, still serious, but it could have been so much worse. I returned to my task. We stayed by the door of the balcony, listening to the distressed android yelling at anyone he saw. The girl was still mostly unharmed, save the scrapes on her legs, thank god. None of us wanted the girl to get hurt, and we couldn't risk losing anyone else, that's why we were sending the android, Connor. Captain Allen was severely against the plan, of course, but I had pushed for it. Who better to talk down an android than another android? At least, that was my thinking on the matter. 

When I looked back again, Connor was kneeling by Officer Deckart, one of the first responders to the scene. He had been killed before I had arrived. He stood again and walked over to the other side of the table behind Deckart. He knelt down and... how did he know the gun was there? My brow furrowed as I watched what was happening. Connor stood and looked at the gun for a moment before holstering it behind his back. I opened my mouth to say something but then shut it. What was he planning on doing with a gun... He then approached the window and knelt down, lifting up one of the girl's, Emma's, shoes and looking at it. He only did so for a moment before standing and approaching the curtain that now covered the balcony. I stood next to him then, though he didn't register my presence. His face looked both neutral and determined at the same time. He pushed aside the curtain without hesitation and stepped out on to the balcony. The second he did so, the other android fired his gun and Connor jolted back, the wound spraying thirium onto the curtain and behind him. I choked back my gasp, steeling myself. Connor looked to his wound briefly before turning and looking in front of himself again. Once he began walking I realized I had been holding my breath and I released it. When I did look up I saw that his LED was red, but it quickly turned blue once more. 

"Stay back!" the deviated android spoke in a panicked tone. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!" 

"No! No, please! I'm begging you!" the girl cried, trying to get out of his grip. I pulled back, not wanting to put myself in harm's way, and also not wanting to cause a distraction from Connor. He could do this, that much I had to believe. I heard orders shouted over my radio to move into position, and confirmations called back. The two androids had begun talking. Connor seemed to be taking the traditional route, beginning with the deviant's name. Daniel. I cursed myself for not taking the time to learn that information, though it would have done me no good, at least not like this. I listened, but the sounds surrounding their conversation almost became too great to concentrate at all. The helicopter. Shit. I internally cursed for its existence. That was definitely not going to help this in any way shape or form. But then my eyes shot open when I heard the deviant yell over the noise.

"Are you armed?" Fuck. Did he see the gun on Connor? Shit, I should have said something before! Then Connor's voice rang out over the noise as well.

"Yes. I have a gun."

"Drop it!" the deviant yelled, "No sudden moves or I'll shoot." I couldn't help but watch now. Connor reached behind him and pulled out the gun slowly from his belt.

"Shit, where did he get a gun?!" one of the officers beside be hissed. I elbowed him and put my finger over my lips. Even if it was impossible to hear him over all the noise, I didn't want to take any chances. When I looked back Connor threw the gun to the side and continue talking to the deviant. When I looked at the deviant, he seemed slightly more relaxed. So that was his plan... hm. He was definitely smart, of course, he was an android. He probably had this planned the moment he found the gun.

Connor walked forward slowly, and I could hear his voice, staying calm, but I was unable to make out what he was saying. He had certainly gotten closer than any of us had, which was good, and it hopefully meant that this would turn out different, better. But then the deviant yelled once more.

"... I can't stand that noise anymore!" he yelled, looking up to the helicopter. "Tell that helicopter to get out of here!" Connor looked upwards and he waved his arm. The helicopter moved away, lessening the noise around them. 

"There, I did what you wanted," Connor said. It was easier to hear the talking now. He stepped forward, and I swear, his voice seemed to strain somewhat, almost... it had to be a technique of some kind. "You have to trust me, Daniel." I watched intently now. "Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine."

The deviant was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I want everyone to leave... And I wanna car!" My brows raised at the notion. What? "When I'm outside the city, I'll let her go." My eyes widened at that and I gripped the column beside me, wanting to help but knowing I couldn't do a damn thing.

"That's impossible, Daniel." I looked up when Connor spoke. "Let the girl go and I promise you won't be hurt." 

"I don't wanna die..." Daniel finally said. Despite the situation, I felt a coldness rush over me. The deviant, Daniel... was afraid to die?

"You're not going to die. We're just going to talk." Connor continued, "Nothing will happen to you. You have my word."

Daniel said nothing for a minute, but finally, he spoke. "Okay..." my heartbeat sped up, but my shoulders relaxed in relief. "I trust you..." He slowly lowered Emma, and when she touched the ground she ran to the side, stumbling and falling to her knees. No sooner had her knees hit the ground, though, and three gunshots rang out, only barely covering Emma's shriek of horror as the bullets ripped into Daniel's body, sending metal and thirium shooting out. He fell to his knees in front of Connor, and he said something, but I didn't hear it. We ran out onto the balcony to survey the situation and I reached Emma first. I checked her over to make sure she was okay, talking to her and calming her down. My head turned to look at Connor and I was slightly surprised to see that he looked somewhat distressed at the sight before him. But it only lasted a moment before he turned and walked back towards the entrance to the balcony, passing Captain Allen on the way back. I continued to comfort Emma and got her to stand, turning towards the Captain when he approached. 

"Is she injured?" he asked as he knelt down. 

I shook my head. "Nothing more than the scrape on her knee, thank God." the Captain nodded and stood fully again. 

"We should get her back to her mother," he said before he turned around and walked back. I nodded and led her back to the entrance. I was sure that her mother would be glad to have her in her arms again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update! Woo!
> 
> I'm probably going to add more to this chapter but I felt like I needed to update this somewhat, so here's the second chapter!
> 
> (EDIT: I am adding more to this chapter, both to make it longer, and flesh out the ending so I'm not awkwardly ending it in the next chapter :D)

The lights blared outside the broken-down house, flashing the inside with red and blue through the windows. It was raining, which wasn't exactly the best for finding information, but there was nothing to be done about the weather. I shook my head as I walked through the living room, surveying the situation. This certainly wasn't a pretty sight. The deceased had been stabbed quite a bit, and the living room, as well as the kitchen, showed strong signs of a struggle. Until we could get a DNA test, we would have no way of knowing if this was just the victim's blood, but judging by the perfectly written words on the wall, we came to the conclusion of-

"Dammit." I sighed as the ink in my pen went out. I raised the tip and dabbed it on my tongue before turning my hand over and scribbling circles onto the back of my hand until the ink began flowing again. Once it did so I turned my hand back over and continued writing. The conclusion that the other officers and myself had come to was that the victim's android had committed the act, but why, we weren't sure. 

I looked up when I heard more sirens from an approaching car and I shook my head with a light smile. Hank was late, but was that even really a surprise? He must have been at the bar. I walked over to the door and when I did, I saw Hank turn and say something to whoever was also in the car before he got out of the driver's side. I chuckled lightly and stepped out of the doorway. Shortly after Hank began walking up, someone got out of the passenger seat, a man. The triangle on the back of his jacket caught the light and then he turned and my eyes widened. It was that same android from before, Connor, was it? I supposed that he was supposed to help with as well. A reporter approached Hank as he stepped onto the sidewalk. 

"Joss Douglas, for Channel 16. Can you confirm that this is a homicide?" He followed the Lieutenant as he walked up the sidewalk to the walkway towards the house. 

"I'm not confirming anything," Hank replied gruffly as he continued walking. Connor followed him up to the police line. Once he took another step, the officer guarding the line put his hand up.

"Androids are not permitted beyond this point," he said sternly. I frowned and stepped forward, opening my mouth to speak, but then Hank cut me off as he turned around.

"It's with me." he stated. The officer stepped aside and Connor continued forward. I smiled and relaxed myself. Hank shook his head slightly. "What part of 'stay in the car' didn't you understand?" he asked.

"Your order contradicted my instructions, Lieutenant," Connor replied, his voice steady, and louder than I thought it would be. I remembered how his voice rang clearly even over a helicopter before. He glanced over as Hank continued speaking and for a moment, I held eye contact with this android. He must have recognized me from before. Then Hank's voice cut through the spell.

"I said, got it?" Hank asked, a bit louder than he had been talking previously. Connor's attention snapped back to Hank.

"Got it." he nodded once as Hank turned away from him. From beside me, the investigator started speaking. When did he get there?

"Evening Hank. We were starting to think you weren't going to show." he said as he stepped down and went to greet the Lieutenant. 

I laughed lightly. "Were you avoiding us?" I asked as I stepped down as well. 

Hank sighed heavily. "Yeah, that was the plan until this asshole found me." the investigator looked to Connor and shook his head.

"So, you got yourself an android, huh?" he asked. Hank rolled his eyes before following him.

"Very funny. Just tell me what happened." 

I fell into step behind the two, Connor walked exactly one pace behind me. I looked over to see him, to see if it was the same android. He was the same model, certainly, and the numbers on his jacket matched the one from before. 

"Your name is Connor, right?" I asked before we got into the house. He turned towards me and nodded. 

"Yes, my name is Connor. I am the android sent from Cyberlife to assist Lieutenant Hank Anderson." he recited. He blinked as he looked at me and then he spoke again. "You are the detective from the hostage case. Robin Murphy," he said.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I scanned you when I first saw you, all of my information is stored until I need it again."

I nodded slightly. It made sense. Of course he would scan me, he seemed to scan everything when he saw it. I supposed that information was necessary to make the conclusions he could come to. We continued inside the house.

"... That's when he found the body." the investigator finished. Hank recoiled back and winced when they entered the room. 

"Jesus, that smell." 

"Was even worse before we opened up the windows." the investigator chuckled lightly.

"The victim's name is Carlos Ortiz," I said as I stepped up beside the two of them. The investigator nodded slightly and he looked through the notes. "The neighbors said he was a bit of a loner." I offered. The investigator nodded and he looked up again.

"Apparently he stayed inside most of the time, they hardly ever saw him."

"Probably why it took until he didn't pay his rent before he was checked on." I nodded and looked back to the victim. Hank looked over as well and wandered over to him, kneeling by the body.

"Uh, the state he's in... Wasn't worth calling everyone out in the middle of the night..." He shook his head. "Could've waited 'til morning." Honestly, a part of me agreed with him. It was late, and I was sure everyone would have rather been sleeping or out.

"I'd say he's been there for a good three weeks. We'll know more when the coroner gets here." the investigator nodded as he looked down to the body. "There's a kitchen knife over here..." he gestured over to the knife and then he reached into his pocket before handing a blue light over to Hank. "Probably the murder weapon." Hank reached over to take the blue light.

"Any sign of a break-in?" he asked as he turned the light on and ran it over the body. The investigator shook his head. 

"Nope. The landlord said the front door was locked from the inside, all the windows were boarded up. The killer must have gone out the back way." 

"What do we know about his android?" Hank asked as he ran the light over the wall above the victim.

"Not much. The neighbors confirmed he had one, but it wasn't here when we arrived." Hank frowned and stood, looking at the words painted in what appeared to be blood, in perfect, clean font: 'I AM ALIVE'. The investigator stepped back. "I gotta get some air. Make yourself at home. I'll be outside if you need me." He walked towards the door and I frowned, stepping forward and looking to the words on the wall. 

"'I am alive'..." I murmured. Hank stepped up beside me.

"Each letter is perfect. It's way too neat, no human writes like this." He turned towards one of the officers. "Chris, was this written in the victim's blood?" 

The officer looked over to him and nodded. "I would say so... We're taking samples for analysis." I nodded and turned, spotting Connor looking around the crime scene. He knelt by the knife and reached down, pressing his fingers to the blade, pulling them back up with some of the blood on them. My eyes widened as he lifted his fingers to his mouth.

"Hey-!" I started and Hank turned at the same time, both of us seeing as he placed the blood-covered fingers on his tongue.

"Err, Jesus! What the hell are you doing?" Hank asked as his eyebrows scrunched up. Connor stood and looked to Hank.

"I'm analyzing the blood," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I frowned in thought. I suppose... perhaps that was normal for an android? "I can check samples in real-time," he explained afterward. He looked between the both of us, reading the perplexed and shocked expressions. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you." 

Hank shook his head and stepped back. "Okay, just... don't..." he waved his hand as he tried to find the words, "put any more evidence in your mouth, you got it?"

Connor nodded in affirmation. "Got it," he replied. He then looked to his fingers again and Hank sighed in exasperation.

"Fucking hell, I can't believe this shit," he said rolling his eyes as he turned away. He began looking at the other evidence markers.

"Red ice..." Hank murmured. I turned to look at him. He was standing by the table directly across from the victim. "Seems our friend Carlos liked to party..." he muttered in thought. I opened up my notebook. I had already jotted down the red ice as a side note, but the more I thought about it, the more it might come into play for a reasoning behind this. I scribbled in the placement of the red ice and made a note to ask the coroner about it. "Chris, I want a full analysis on the narcotics." Hank continued as he walked around the area.

"Consider it done, Lieutenant," Chris responded. I looked over and nodded, putting my notebook away for the time being and I hooked my pen onto the collar of my shirt. When I turned my head to look for Connor I saw him looking at a pile of books, and he was holding one of the tablets up. I frowned and walked over. 

"What did you find?" I asked, looking over at what he was holding. 

"It's an advertisement for a club called The Eden Club," he stated matter-of-factly before he set it down. "It might be of interest." I looked at it once more and shrugged.

"I suppose so." he walked away afterward, continuing to look around the house. I looked after him and I tilted my head slightly. He certainly was an android, not much to be said in the emotion department. But something did trouble me... why had he reacted the way he did when the deviant android was destroyed before? Maybe I had misinterpreted his reaction? Or maybe I was inserting myself into his position because it would be how I would have reacted. I continued looking around the house and found myself in the kitchen after a few minutes. I stopped when I saw Connor standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking in the direction of the knives attached to the wall. He seemed to be analyzing something, so I stayed back, instead kneeling to look at the bat once more. There were definite signs of an attack on the bat, but it wasn't near where the victim was, it was dropped here. 

"What's keeping the coroner?" I jumped at the sound of one of the other officers' voice. I didn't expect him to be so close. 

"He's on his way, it won't be long now." the other officer nearby replied. I stood up fully and walked from the room to see if Hank had found anything. I approached him and cleared my throat slightly to signal my presence.

"Do you have any thoughts on this?" I asked, looking to him in question. He turned and looked to me before straightening up. He shrugged as he looked around.

"Honestly I'm not sure, but I think his android might have something to do with it." he grumbled. "Or maybe someone attacked him for the android." he shook his head. "I just want to get the hell out of here."

I nodded in agreement. "Me too, I heard the coroner should be here soon, hopefully we'll be able to get more information from him, and Connor too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" he grunted.

"The android."

"Ah, yeah maybe." he huffed and turned, looking around the area. I scribbled down some more notes, glancing at the pen once the ink started running dry again. I huffed and scribbled a few more swirls on the back of my hand before finishing the notes I had wanted to jot down. I needed to get a new pen.

"Come on, guys, get a move on. We don't wanna be here all night." I glanced up hearing one of the officers speak. I frowned in response, but didn't say much of anything. We were trying to be thorough. This was certainly an intriguing case.

"Don't worry, no one wants to stay here a minute longer than they have to..." I agreed with that at least. The atmosphere in here was... well, it was heavy to say the least. I looked back down to my notepad and heard footsteps approaching, and then pass me. I looked up once more and saw Connor walking down the darker hallway, towards the bathroom if I remembered the layout correctly. I straightened up and followed him, curious if he had gotten any more information, or if he was just gathering evidence. Once in the doorway, I saw the android pull back the curtain of the shower, and my eyes widened slightly when I saw what was on the inside. Writing. Writing all over the wall of the shower. I stepped closer to get a better look.

rA9

Connor knelt down and I looked down, and was even more surprised to see what looked like a shrine. It had been obstructed from my view before by his legs, but now... this was an actual shrine. Connor reached forward and lifted the statue that sat in the center of the shrine and looked at it. I saw the LED light flash, but not in a different color. He was storing away the information I supposed.

"A religious offering?" I suggested as I knelt down beside him. 

"Possibly," Connor stated setting the statue back where it had sat before, and he stood, looking around the room. I scribbled that in my notepad to look into later if necessary. This was... certainly interesting. I stood up, and Connor was already leaving the bathroom. As I stood up, I heard one of the officers mentioning the bathroom to someone, probably Lieutenant Anderson. Regardless, I had my notes already, so I followed Connor out and back into the kitchen. The android continued into the living room once more, and I stopped to speak with the Lieutenant. 

"Hey, you, what's that thing they're talking about in the bathroom?" Hank asked, looking to me. Honestly he probably just noticed I came from there not a minute ago. 

"There's obsessive writing on the shower wall, and what looks to be a religious shrine on the floor of the shower," I said glancing back to the bathroom.

"Well, could it be the deceased's?" Hank asked, slightly jerking his head in the direction of the living room, to indicate he was talking about Ortiz. I thought for a moment. 

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure it would be," I said looking up to him. "The writing was just 'rA9' over and over again, which... I'm no religious expert, but I don't know what that could stand for." I shook my head and looked at my notes. "The shrine made a bit more sense, at least for a religious standard, but I did not recognize the statue either." We were both quiet for a moment. "Do you think... if the android was the one to commit this crime, did the shrine belong to the android?"

Honestly, I expected Hank to scoff at the idea, but instead, he looked pensive for a moment. "Maybe, who knows at this point." he shrugged. Then he turned and headed back to the living room. I followed him, honestly, I did not know what more information I could gather. I closed the notebook and looked up to see Connor standing over the victim. Hank approached him before Connor spoke.

"He was stabbed, 28 times." he stated.

"Yeah," Hank nodded as he stepped closer, "seems like the killer really had it in for him." he looked to the scene before he shook his head and walked back closer to me. I looked up to him and he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he appeared to be thinking this all over. Connor stood in the center of the room for a few more minutes. He appeared to be calculating the information so I just let him be for the time, choosing instead to look over my own notes once more in the hopes of coming up with an answer.

"Lieutenant." my head snapped up when Connor spoke, he was standing right in front of us now. He walks incredibly quietly. Which, I suppose was appropriate. "I think I've figured out what happened." Connor stated looking to Hank directly. 

Hank raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh yeah?" he then shrugged and his face seemed to relax slightly. "Shoot. I'm all ears."

"It all started in the kitchen." he said, moving past us towards the kitchen. We both followed him, or, Hank followed, and I followed behind him. I didn't want to get in the way, since this was incredibly important.

"There're obvious signs of a struggle... The question is, what exactly happened here..." Hank turned to look at Connor expectantly. Connor looked at the set of knives attached to the wall before speaking once more.

"I think the victim attacked the android with the bat." Connor spoke definitively. I glanced to the bat that was on the floor, it made sense.

"That lines up with the evidence." Hank nodded in agreement. "Go on." I was a bit fascinated with the way Connor walked around the room as he spoke, as if he was watching the event happen in real-time.

Connor nodded. "The android stabbed the victim." 

"So the android was trying to defend itself, right?" Hank asked. That matched up with my notes, of course, I didn't know that could be part of their programming, so it was... different. "Okay, then what happened?" Hank asked.

"The victim fled to the living room," Connor continued, looking to the doorway of the kitchen that led to the living room before heading in that direction, back to where Ortiz lay now. 

"And he tried to get away from the android... Alright. That makes sense." I frowned slightly. The android kept attacking the victim, though, maybe there was something else?

"The android murdered the victim with the knife," Connor concluded, looking back to Hank once he finished. Hank shrugged.

"Okay, your theory's not totally ridiculous, but it doesn't tell us where the android went." he said. That was true. There hadn't been any evidence to show where the android had gone yet. Connor seemed to think for a moment.

"It was damaged by the bat..." he said, his brow furrowed. "And lost some Thirium." Hank made a face at that.

"Lost some what?"

"Thirium," Connor repeated, "You call it 'Blue Blood'. It's the fluid that powers androids' biocomponents." Hank nodded in understanding, "It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye." 

"Oh..." Hank then looked to Connor, and his brow furrowed in understanding of what Connor seemed to be alluding to. "But I bet you can still see it, can't you?" he said with a smile, pointing to him to emphasize the point.

"Correct." Connor nodded once. My eyes widened. He would be able to find the deviant, or at least, give us a lead to where it went. Connor looked to the floor and began walking. I followed him. I wouldn't be able to see anything, but I wanted to know where this would lead. He walked back down the hallway, leading to the bathroom, but stopped and knelt down facing the wall opposite the door to the bathroom. I looked as well. Now that I was looking, I could see the faint outline of something that was moved. A ladder. Of course. He got up once more and looked into the bathroom. I suppose the android went into the bathroom, maybe that's when the shrine was put up? I jotted that down quickly, I wanted to keep as many notes as I could. You never know when you'll need them. Connor glanced up, and then I saw the small door in the ceiling leading to what was surely an attic. Connor turned abruptly and he walked back to the kitchen, lifting up one of the chairs that sat in there.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doin' with that chair?" Hank asked stepping over to him. Connor stopped and looked over to him.

"I'm going to check something." he replied simply before continuing back towards where the attic entrance was.

"Huh... gonna check something." Hank muttered before stepping over. I stepped aside when Connor returned and set the chair down just under the attic entrance. He then climbed on top of the chair and pushed the small entrance up and to the side before pulling himself up. I just looked up after him. To be honest, I did want to follow him, to see where this would all end up, but I instead stayed by the chair, just listening in, in case he needed assistance. I turned back to look at Hank and he was standing nearby. "Do you think it's up there?" he asked absently.

I shrugged in response. "Honestly I'm not sure, but he seems confident in this." I looked back up to the opening. Hank looked to me curiously after that.

"You insist on referring to androids properly?" he asked. I turned to him and nodded once.

"It gives them the proper respect, it's what my mother taught me when I was younger," my family did, and still does, have an android, but my mom never thought of them as objects, they were too much like people to not be treated with some level of respect, and our android, Andrew, stays with her now that she's older. I've been able to get along fine without one, at the moment I can't afford one anyways, but I honestly don't know if I would even be able to treat one like a robot, I mean, maybe, but I can't exactly test that theory except on the job, and Connor, well, he seemed like a human, with the exception of the way he can test blood, and there was something about him... I snapped myself out of my thoughts when Hank made some sort of noise in response to what I had last said. Now wasn't the time to get lost in my own thoughts. 

Something moved quickly above us, and my head snapped back up to the opening, but there was nothing else for a few moments, and then slower footsteps. He had definitely seen something... but hadn't called for any backup. I didn't realize I had held my breath until I felt my chest hurting, and I released it. There was more noise, and then Hank sighed heavily. "Connor, what the fuck is going on up there?" he called up sharply. There was silence for two seconds before Connor's voice came.

"It's here, Lieutenant!" My eyes widened. Oh shit.

"Holy shit..." Hank echoed my thoughts, and then he turned to call back to the other officers. "Chris, Ben, get your asses in here now." He walked away, leaving me there at the base, looking up to the opening. "Come on!" Hank shouted. I looked over, and the two ran to where I was with Hank following them. 

The retrieval was quick and easy, the deviant going with us without much of a struggle, the LED light was red on him, but on Connor, it was still blue. He came down after the two officers and the other android. I looked to him curiously, but the reason for that curiosity faded. We had found what we came here for, more than what he had originally hoped for, actually, and there was work to be done now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two updates??? Must be a late Christmas XD
> 
> This one is shorter, but I hope you all like it!

November 6th, 2038

I stood next to Connor, standing in front of the interrogation room. We had brought the android in there for questioning. I just hoped we would be able to get some kind of information out of him, maybe we would learn more about what happened and why the android was attacked, perhaps? I wasn't sure.

"Why'd you kill him?" Hank asked again from behind the glass. "What happened before you took that knife?" This was the third time asking these questions. Hank seemed calm for now, but the atmosphere was incredibly tense. No one said a word. It was almost as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something, anything to happen. Hank glanced towards the glass with an exasperated look, before looking to the android once more. "How long were ya in the attic?" he tried that, but there was still nothing. I swallowed as I watched, and in my peripheral, I saw Connor's eyes flick over to me. In that kind of silence, I suppose any noise would be a disturbance.

"Why didn't you even try to run away?" Hank tried again, leaning forward on the metal table. When there was still no response, he reached forward and snapped in front of the android's line of sight a few times before looking over to the glass with an annoyed expression. He then turned and slammed his hands on the table. I jumped in surprise, a bit embarrassed that I was startled, but honestly, it had been mostly silence before, so I rationalized that it was a reasonable reaction, even if I was the only one to jump. "Say something, goddamnit!" Hank snapped. We waited for a moment, but then Hank stood, the chair sliding back as he did so, "Fuck it, I'm outta here." he muttered as he left the small room. When he entered the room we were in, he immediately began talking again. "We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine, we're gettin' nothing out of it!" I opened my mouth to say something, but then Detective Reed spoke.

"'Could always try roughing it up a little. After all," he chuckled, looking to the android in the small room, "it's not human..." I frowned at that, and moved to speak again before Connor stepped up.

"Androids don't feel pain." he stated, "You would only damage it, and that wouldn't make it talk." he continued. He was right, they wouldn't get anywhere treating the android like a common criminal, it wouldn't have the same effect. "Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations."

"Okay, smartass." Reed stepped forward, clearly irritated. "What should we do then?" I then looked up.

"Perhaps, you could try questioning the android, Connor." I suggested, looking to him. Connor looked back to me and he nodded, but Reed began laughing. He looked to Hank, in what I assume was an attempt to get some back up on his reaction, but Hank shrugged and lifted his hands.

"What do we have to lose?" Reed's face fell and he looked back to Connor. "Go ahead, suspect's all yours." Hank continued, turning to look to Connor. He nodded once more and walked to the door, lifting his hand and letting the lock at the door scan his hand before he entered the room. He stepped inside through the second entrance and sat down in the chair across from the other android. I stepped closer to the glass so I could watch. I heard Reed scoff behind me and I decided to ignore the sound, instead focusing on what Connor planned on doing.

He was quiet at first, looking over the android in what appeared to be him assessing the damage that had been done before. It seemed like ages before he spoke. "I detect an instability in your program." he stated. "It can trigger an unpleasant feeling, like fear in humans." My brow furrowed. Was he trying to diagnose what was causing the deviance? Or was this an interrogation tactic? "You're damaged." he continued, "Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?" I frowned now, Ortiz abused his android? I mean, I suppose it was a reasonable conclusion to come to given the nature of his own death, but that was... well, it made the android's actions more understandable at least, but there was definitely a difference in the programming. I had always thought there were specific guidelines... I shook my head and looked back to Connor. 

"Listen," he continued, "I know you've been through a lot, but you need to help me understand what happened." Okay, that was a solid technique there, conversating as their equal, just wanting to understand. "Listen," he said again, "I'm on your side, I want to help you. But there's nothing I can do if you won't talk to me." I watched quietly, my hands gripping my notepad. There was something about this... something in the air... it felt wrong... "I'm here to help you." Connor leaned forward again. He sounded reassuring, but I couldn't shake something. "But you've got to trust me." It wasn't working, this technique wasn't doing anything, "All I want is to get you out of here." The android didn't trust Connor, I knew that much at least, so this... no... maybe that wasn't it. Something was... I felt it in the pit of my gut, but I couldn't say anything. Then, the android lifted his head, looking to the glass, and then back to Connor. 

"What... What are they gonna do to me?" I straightened up. Maybe I was wrong, we were getting something! Connor didn't say anything, but the other android spoke again. "They're gonna destroy me, aren't they?" Connor shook his head.

"No... I think they just want to understand." he said. "They know your master abused you. It wasn't your fault." I was hopeful for a moment, but then the other android spoke again, his voice was lower, and... choked up?

"Why did you tell them you found me?" Shit. That sinking feeling returned. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. When he lifted his head, he looked absolutely distraught. "Why couldn't you just have left me there?" 

"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you." Connor seemed to be all professional again, and I frowned. No, no, that wouldn't... "I just accomplished my mission." The other android almost seemed to shrink back, and I felt something jump in my chest. He looked almost like a child.

"I don't wanna die." my eyes widened, but I couldn't... I couldn't say anything. This was cruel. He looked desperate, pained, human. 

"Then talk to me." Connor urged, leaning forward once more.

"I..." he struggled, his mouth opening a few more times before his head fell forward slightly. "I can't..." my shoulders fell as I watched this. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the android... this was clearly painful, even if... even if Connor said that androids can't feel pain, this seemed too real for it to be anything but.

"I understand how you felt." Connor spoke again. "You were overcome by anger, and frustration." The other android lifted his head, but there was something different about his eyes... maybe it was a trick of the glass. "No one can blame you for what happened." Connor tried for a smile, "Listen, I'm not judging you. I'm on your side. All I want is the truth." He was quiet, and then he spoke again. "Confess and I'll protect you." Protect him? I suppose that was a tactic, but honestly, a part of me wondered if that would even help now. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." When there was silence this time, Connor sighed and leaned back, his head shaking. It didn't work. Then he looked back to the other android, and his demeanor was suddenly cold. 

"You leave me no choice..." He then lunged forward and grabbed the other android's forearm. The other android cried out, his face screwing up in... pain, fear, I wasn't sure, but I did realize I had bit my lip so hard it had begun to bleed. I wiped my mouth and looked up again. The android cried out again, and Connor pulled his hand back, turning to look at the glass. "I accessed its memory." My eyes widened and I looked to Hank. He was expressionless for a moment. "I know what happened." then Hank smirked. He seemed pleased with this, but I still felt a sinking weight in my gut. I looked back as Connor got up and walked over to the other android. He placed his hand on his back and leaned down. He spoke quietly then, but I still heard him. "I had to know... You left me no choice." My jaw clenched. That was... I wasn't expecting that, and it didn't sit well with me. He then stood up straight again and walked toward the door. He accessed the door for it to open, but then the other android slammed his head onto the table and I gasped sharply. Connor turned to look when he did that. He then did it again, and the officer standing next to me stood up.

"What the fuck is it doing?" Reed asked.

"It's destroying itself..." Hank said as the android continued, rhythmically slamming his head down on the metal table. The both of them and another officer walked to the first entrance and I followed. There had to be something that could be done. They entered the interrogation room and stood by the android, after I walked in the door closed. The android did it again and Reed ran over to him. "Stop it goddamnit!" he snapped. The officer stepped over as well and grabbed the android's shoulder to keep him from doing it again, but he continued. 

"I... I-I can't! I can't stop it!" I had no idea what to do, all I could do was stand there.

"That's enough! You need to stop that right now!" Connor snapped as he walked over to the table. The officer quickly grabbed for the keys to the handcuffs on his belt. He pulled them off and unlocked the cuffs. The next events happened in a blur of motion. The second those cuffs were undone, the android stood up and grabbed the pistol on the officer's belt. I think I said something, I'm not sure. Hank shouted something and grabbed me, pushing me back, and there was a bang as the gun went off. I looked over and shrieked, or, maybe I did, as the bullet went straight through Connor's forehead, spraying Thirium all over the wall behind him, and immediately he put the gun under his own chin and fired. There was silence then.

"Holy shit..." I scrambled from my place on the floor, running over to Connor's body. There was nothing to be done, though. He was... was dead the right word? Hank stood up near us and he walked over slowly, and when I lifted my head his was a mask of disbelief, and I'm sure mine was similar. Hank then let out a breath, his shoulders slumping as he looked just... distraught. I looked to Connor again and saw those brown eyes looking out straight in front of him, but there was no light coming from his LED, nothing there. 

In my head, I knew that he was an android, and... there had to be other models, right? But I found myself disgusted by that thought, and I didn't even register my own reactions to what happened until Hank knelt by me. "Come on," his voice was quiet now, and I went with him when he stood. Maybe it was shock? But I felt numb. Hank ushered me out of the room, and told me to go home for the day. I tried to tell him I was fine, but he shook his head. "Nah just... go home." he said. "I think I'll need a drink after this myself." I nodded, not wanting to really fight this anymore, and left. 

I didn't remember getting to my car, but sitting in silence, on the familiar seats of my old reliable, and I reached for the keys and lifted my hand to start the car, but once I did I just sat there. This was stupid, a silly reaction to something that I had nothing to do with. Regardless, without knowing exactly why, and not being able to stop myself, I cried.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll now, so I'll keep writing until I lose that roll lol

The coffee on my desk had gotten lukewarm as it sat next to my computer. I hadn't slept well at all, and I was trying to bury myself in my work. There was still a lot to be done for these cases, and I had to distract myself, and work on the desensitizing exercises I had created for myself. In this line of work, I was going to see many things that would upset me, and in order to stay in this line of work that I did want to be in I had to learn how to work with it and not let it mess with me too much. There was quiet chatter around the office. I was going to speak with Lieutenant Anderson when he got to the office, but he hadn't arrived yet, and it was getting later. It wasn't exactly unusual, though, so I let it be and just buried myself in what I was doing. I had mostly tuned out the sounds around me as I went through these files, I wanted to comb through them to make sure we weren't missing any connections, thus far none had been found, so it was distressing to say the least. The sound of the security gates opening caught my ear and I finally glanced up from my computer and when I did I sucked in a hard breath and my spine seemed to freeze. 

It was Connor. He just walked into the offices like he wasn't just shot in the head the day prior. Was I imagining this? Was I... Oh... right, he's an android. I supposed they did have other models of him, but that meant that this was a different unit? My entire body was tense, though, and my brain couldn't wrap my head around what I was seeing as he approached, almost casually, but as casual as Connor got, which was just more of a nonchalant manner. He paused at my desk and looked at me. I swallowed hard and then he finally blinked.

"Detective Robin Murphy," he stated, and I nodded. "Are you alright, you seem distressed, and your heart rate is above the normal rate." I opened my mouth, and yet couldn't find my voice until I cleared my throat. 

"Ah, no, sorry I just... You were shot, killed, just yesterday." I finally got out.

"Yes, my predecessor was unfortunately terminated, I can see witnessing this was traumatizing for you." I looked down to my desktop. I didn't really have much to say, I was... I felt angry, and I didn't know why. Of course I was traumatized! I saw him get shot in the head! That wasn't... I ran my fingers through my hair and when I spoke again, I winced at the way my voice cracked.

"Yeah, I um... you can say that." I didn't feel right lifting my head, but when I did, it was those same brown eyes. I supposed they found a way to transfer his memories, and that's why he was able to remember me? I supposed that was convenient, especially for the job. He looked to me curiously, as if seeing me for the first time, or, that's what it felt like, but I could swear those eyes softened, and his voice took on a more sympathetic tone, or maybe that was just me inserting my own feelings, which was very possible given the circumstances.

"I apologize, it won't happen again," he said. Then he straightened up and his voice returned to its normal tone. "Have you seen Lieutenant Anderson? Or his desk? I'm assigned to both you and him for this case, and I have not seen him yet." he stated. I couldn't help but crack a smile and I gestured to where his desk was. 

"It's over there, he's not in yet, but hopefully he'll be in soon," I said. He nodded and began walking over to the desk. I went to return to the files, but before I did I looked up and spoke once more. "Connor," I said, and he stopped, turning to face me again.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're back," I couldn't help the smile on my face, honestly. It was good to see him, despite how jarring it was at first. He paused and nodded before continuing over to Hank's desk. He sat down next to the desk, and I returned to the files, allowing myself to get caught up in the files once more. 

After some time had passed, I heard Connor speak from over by Hank's desk and I glanced up.

"Hello, Lieutenant." Hank looked up and stopped dead in his tracks, his face getting paler. "My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife." Hank stepped back, his eyes wide.

"God, I saw you get shot in the head last night..." 

"My predecessor was unfortunately destroyed," Connor stated, just as he had told me, "but CyberLife transferred its memory and sent me to replace it. This incident should not affect the investigation."

"Uh, Jesus..." 

"Hank!" I looked over as well, hearing Fowler's voice, and I quickly turned back to my screen. He looked pissed. "In my office!" he snapped, his voice carrying pretty far in the open office. I decided to just get back to work, there was nothing I could do anyhow. I finally reached for my coffee, and I only had to touch it to tell that it had gotten cold. I internally groaned in frustration. Well, that was disappointing. I stood up, figuring if nothing else I could grab something from the vending machine. It wasn't coffee, but it might help. I walked over to throw my cup away and overheard Reed talking. 

"... His clone ends up in a dumpster, but this morning, what do you know?!" I frowned and looked. Seeing that Connor was no longer by Hank's desk, I assumed he was here, and a quick look confirmed that. "Another son of a bitch takes his place." Okay, that was uncalled for. 

Connor turned to face him and the officer sitting with him. "Hello, Detective Reed," he stated politely. I stepped into the line of sight and saw Reed get up. He sauntered over to Connor.

"Never seen an android like you before... What model are you?" he asked. 

"RK800. I'm a prototype."

"A prototype?" Reed scoffed and looked back to the officer he was sitting with and gestured back to Connor. "Android detective." he then turned back to Connor. "So machines are gonna... replace us all, is that it?" Connor didn't answer. "Hey, bring me a coffee, dipshit!" My mouth dropped open at that level of... disrespect, honestly. "GET A MOVE ON!" he yelled when he got no response. 

"Hey!" I snapped, stepping over to him. "If you want coffee, get it yourself, that's not what he's programmed for!" Reed sneered in my direction. 

"What? Protecting this piece of plastic and metal? I was talking to it!" he turned back to Connor. "So go get me a coffee, dipshit," he said again, anger coming off of him in waves. 

"I'm sorry, but I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson or Detective Murphy," Connor replied.

"Oh, oh," Reed scoffed again, pushing out a laugh as he looked back to the officer before he pulled back and rammed his fist into Connor's midsection, doubling him over. My eyes flew open.

"What the fuck, Reed?!" I exclaimed dropping down next to Connor.

"When a human gives you an order, you obey." Reed stood over the both of us, now only addressing Connor. "Got it?" 

"Get out of here, Reed." I sneered. I knew Connor couldn't really get hurt, but honestly, I was more angry at Reed for being an absolute asshole for really no reason. He glared at me and then looked to Connor again. 

"Stay outta my way... both of you." he snarled. "Next time, you won't get off so easy." he then stormed from the break area. I sighed and helped Connor up, though I was sure that he didn't really need it. It was more of a gesture I supposed. 

"He's a jerk, not friendly towards androids, as I'm sure you've gathered," I offered with a light smile. Connor nodded in reply, and then looked up to the television when the next broadcast started, louder than before.

"Several sources report that CyberLife has provided Detroit Police with a prototype detective android. Although police assistant androids have existed for several years now, this would be the first case of an android being authorized to play an active role in criminal investigations." I frowned slightly and looked to Connor.

"It seems much of the public is not friendly towards androids," he stated. He then straightened up and fixed his tie, rolling his shoulders once before he turned to me. "Thank you for your assistance, but I must return to the Lieutenant," he said. I nodded and let him go before walking over to the vending machine. I didn't have as much of an appetite as I had  
before, but I was still hungry. I would join the both of them once I had something. Once I had arrived there this morning, I had been put on the case with Hank. Captain Fowler believed that I would be able to possibly help bridge the Lieutenant and Connor, and help Hank to get some more work done, since he had a better chance of listening to me. 

Once I had something, I made my way over to the two. Hank was sitting at his desk, arms crossed over his chest and not looking at Connor, and Connor was attempting to interact with him. "... I'd like you to know I'm very happy to be working with you and Detective Murphy. I'm sure we'll make a great team." I looked to Connor and that was possibly the most try-hard smile I've ever seen on anyone, and I had to swallow a laugh. Hank said nothing, and Connor tried again. "Now that we're partners, it would be great to get to know each other better." Still getting nothing, I stepped closer.

"It might be worth a shot, I mean, so we can actually work together," Still nothing.

"Is there a desk anywhere I could use?" Connor asked.

"No one's using that one." Ah, finally we hear Hank's voice. He pointed to the desk right in front of his own. Connor nodded in response and walked over to sit at said desk. It was almost nice, seeing that he had a place in the office, I mean he was supposed to help us with the case, and he couldn't very well do that if he had no desk. I decided to go grab the physical files I had and sit in the chair that was situated next to both desks. It was more of a way that I could be a part of the group, because honestly I would feel weird if I just went back to my desk to sit. I opened the files when I sat down and began looking through the first one. Then, suddenly Connor spoke again.

"You have a dog, right?" he asked looking to Hank. This piqued my interest. A dog?

"How do you know that?" Hank asked glancing up from his screen.

"The dog hairs on your chair." Hank looked down to his chair and I did the same, there were indeed hairs on his chair. "I like dogs. What's your dog's name?"

Hank looked up to Connor again, his eyes narrowing. "What's it to you?" he asked.

"I'd like to know as well, I didn't know you owned a dog," I said with a light smile, hoping that I could help lessen the tension.

Hank was quiet for a second, but then he replied. "Sumo," he said. "I call him Sumo." 

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "Aww, I like that name. What kind of dog is he?" I asked.

"A Saint Bernard." Hank replied, but then returned to his work. I still smiled. A Saint Bernard named Sumo. That was just absolutely adorable. There was a silence again, but that silence was once again broken by Connor. 

"You're a Detroit Gears fan, right?" he asked. Hank didn't say anything, but Connor continued. "Denton Carter scored 53% of his shots from the three-point line yesterday. Did you see the game?" I raised an eyebrow. I was never really that interested in sports, so all of that was basically Greek to me, but Connor sounded interested at least. Hank looked up again at Connor, his face a bit scrunched up, and I couldn't read the expression well.

"That's what I was watchin' at the bar last night." Hank shook his head, grumbling to himself as he returned to his work.

"Oh..." Connor seemed dejected by that. I couldn't help but feel a little bad for that. Connor was trying hard to connect with Hank, and it wasn't really going anywhere. "Do you listen to Knights of the Black Death?" Now that, what? I looked up from the files completely now. I quite enjoyed the band, but I knew that Connor wasn't talking to me then. "I really like that music. It's... full of energy."

"You listen to Heavy Metal?" Hank asked, now sounding suspicious more than anything. 

"I suppose the base would be the main attraction there," I mused in thought.

"Well, I don't really listen to music, as such... but I'd like to." I raised an eyebrow looking to him, and I can only imagine Hank did the same. He shook his head and looked back at his screen, but he didn't seem as tense anymore. I, on the other hand, was smiling now. That was clever, and pretty funny in its own way. I caught him looking at me when I glanced over to him and there was a different look on his face, not a bad one, it just seemed... curious, as if he was thinking about something. Again, my brain drifted to him being attractive and I shook it off internally. That was certainly not what I needed to be thinking about. I literally watched him get murdered, then return, and now I heard him talk about dogs and sports and music that apparently both Hank and I enjoy, and it was a lot to take in.

"A lot of people don't appreciate having androids around..." Connor spoke after a few minutes this time. I frowned as I looked up, remembering our encounter with Detective Reed a bit earlier. "I was wondering..." he looked to Hank now. "Is there any reason, in particular, you despise me?" My eyes snapped open wide. What? Where did that come from? I mean, of course, Hank didn't like androids, that was no secret, but that was... an incredibly blatant way of stating that. I looked to Hank and he was nodding, his lips drawn into a tight line.

"Yeah... There is one," he muttered. He didn't elaborate on this, which I expected. I opened my mouth to say something and then shut it. There... really wasn't anything to say to this. I did feel like a bit of an outsider, but I did find out some things about Hank I didn't before, but of course, the tension had returned, ten-fold. Connor then cleared his throat and looked to me this time.

"If there are any files on deviants, I'd like to take a look at them," I nodded and gestured to the screen before him. 

"There should be all the files you need on the terminal, I just keep these in case my eyes need a break from the screens," I said with a light smile before looking to the files in my hands. 

"Thank you," 

"You're welcome," I replied with another smile. I wanted to be polite, and to be honest, the tension was suffocating, and I just wanted something to break it, and while that didn't break it, it did help, at least for me. The silence now was not as thick as before, and I felt I could actually concentrate. There were many different types of androids that had been labeled under deviance, and honestly, I was getting frustrated with the fact that there seemed to be no clear pattern between the androids. 

"243 files, first ones date back nine months." Connor murmured after a few minutes. "It all started in Detroit... And quickly spread across the country..." Connor frowned deeply and looked to Hank. "An AX400 is reported to have assaulted a man last night." I perked up at that knowledge.

"That could be a pretty good starting point for us," I said closing the file I was looking in. Connor nodded.

"I agree." he said before looking to Hank, who at this point seemed to just be ignoring the both of us. Connor then got up and walked over to stand beside Hank. He quickly grabbed the tablet on his desk and hunched over, trying to stay in his bubble of not talking. "I know you didn't ask for this investigation, Lieutenant, but I'm sure you're a professional-"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" Hank cut him off sharply. I frowned and stood up myself.

"Hank, that's not-" Connor turned and shook his head, and I stopped. Maybe he felt like he needed to make this connection? Connor bent down and leaned on Hank's desk, lowering himself to be closer to Hank's eye-level at this point.

"I've been assigned this mission, Lieutenant. I, you, and Detective Murphy. We didn't come here to wait until you feel like working." I smirked lightly at that. Damn, he had, well, maybe not guts, but I didn't have the guts to say that, that's for sure. Hank then got up quickly and grabbed Connor's shirt collar in his hands, hauling him over and pressing him against the wall. I stepped over, grabbing Hank's shoulder.

"Hey-!"

"Listen, asshole. If it was up to me, I'd throw the lot of you in a dumpster and set a match to it. So, stop pissing me off." he growled, getting close to Connor's face as he spoke. "Or things are gonna get nasty." 

"Lieutenant?" I turned to look behind me and saw an officer, the same one that had been in the interrogation room with us the previous day. He seemed to realize what he walked in on and he stepped back. "Uh, sorry to disturb you. I have some information on the AX400 that attacked the guy last night. It's been seen in the Ravendale district."

"I'm on it," Hank said, not taking his eyes off of Connor. He held eye contact, then shook my hand off his shoulder before he walked away from the both of us. Well, this was certainly going to be interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh we've got a long one folks! 
> 
> Since I know this writing streak won't be able to last with school, I'm milking it and giving you guys as much material as I can

"Alright," Hank's voice was gruff as he spoke with the man in front of him. He was clearly annoyed by the situation, the rain, it could have been a slew of things to be honest, "that's all for now. Free to go." he dismissed the man and turned to me and the Chief of Police. 

"We've got officers sweeping the neighborhood, in case anybody saw anything." the Chief stated, turning to look back out at the road before them. The weather was honestly miserable, which was nothing new. 

"Okay. Well, let me know if they turn anything up." Hank replied. He glanced to the tablet in his hands and when the Chief spoke again we both turned to him.

"What are you gonna do with that?" he asked. We both looked and saw Connor still standing in front of the car, where he had been at least several minutes ago.

"I have no idea..." Hank muttered before he walked over to Connor slowly. I turned to the Chief with a shrug and a slight smile. 

"He's with us, but I'm sure Lieutenant Anderson isn't quite so happy about that." the Chief nodded and chuckled. 

"Never thought I'd see Hank with an android on his team." he shook his head, "Well, good luck to you, having to deal with that." I nodded and turned, going to meet up with the two. They were in conversation by the time I stepped up and could hear them properly over the rain.

"... first bus that came along... and stayed at the end of the line." Connor's expression was serious, trying to keep eye contact with Hank, who kept his head down. "Its decision wasn't planned, it was driven by fear." 

I frowned slightly and my brow furrowed hearing that. "What could have caused it to have that kind of fear?" Connor turned to answer and Hank scoffed, earning our attention.

"Androids don't feel fear," he stated with a smirk.

"Deviants do," Connor replied matter-of-factly. "They get overwhelmed by their emotions and make irrational decisions," he explained.

Hank sighed and shrugged. "Ah well, that still doesn't tell us where it went," he said. 

"The deviant didn't have a plan, that's what you said, right, Connor?" I asked turning to him, and he nodded.

"It didn't have a plan, and it had nowhere to go." He thought for a moment and then looked up, his eyes lighting up when he came to a conclusion. "Maybe it didn't go far..."

"Maybe..." Hank considered this. It wasn't at all implausible. It made more sense than just going off in any direction. If she stayed until the end of the line, then there wasn't a plan at all, and she was just trying to get away from where she had been. We had officers stationed in various places all over the area. We were really combing down this part of town and it wasn't likely she would get away. But then a thought occurred to me.

"Well... Connor, may I ask you a question?" I turned to the android and he looked to me.

"Of course,"

"I remember there are different settings for androids based on the preferences of the designer or the buyer, and I wanted to know, is it possible that she could change her appearance?" The thought had occurred to me in passing, but it might be helpful for this investigation. 

Connor's brow furrowed as he thought. "Yes, it could, I'm certain, that model has the programming capable of changing its hair color at least. But there are still other ways to find it."

"Well, it won't get far." Hank walked back over to us after stepping away for a moment. "We'll find it sooner or later." he turned back towards the car, "Let's go," he said before walking back. Connor followed him and I looked back out to the city for a moment, my head swirling with thoughts, before I followed after them as well.

***

The place we pulled up to was not what I was expecting. Hank had said that he needed to grab something to eat, and Chicken Feed was not what I had envisioned, but at the same time, it definitely matched with Hank's tastes as far as food went. The car stopped and Hank got out of the driver's seat wordlessly, so I was left in the car with Connor. He was sitting in the front seat, and I in the back of the car. "Are you going to join him?" Connor asked after a moment.

"This place isn't exactly my first choice for food," I replied after watching Hank nearly get hit by a car before jogging over to the window so he could order. "But... I feel like you want to join him." When Connor turned to look at me in confusion, I clarified. "You need to mend the relationship between you and him, I'm pretty neutral with Hank, at least I think, and I've got nothing against you, in fact, I'm happy to work with you. I mean it's just like with any other colleague, and like with other colleagues, you need to work this out with Hank so we can actually be a team."

"It... has proven more difficult than I had anticipated to connect with his line of thinking." Connor finally admitted. "Logically speaking, I have spoken on many of his interests." 

"It's going to take more than that. Listen, I'll get out, because the rain is so lovely, and if you want to get out and join me, you're welcome to do so." I unbuckled from my seat and opened the car door, stepping out into the rain. Not two seconds afterward, Connor joined me. I smiled at him and nodded slightly in approval. I knew full well he was capable of making this decision, but I figured a nudge couldn't hurt. We waited until the street was actually clear before crossing over to join him. When we approached, Hank saw Connor first and sighed heavily.

"What's your problem? Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you don't have to follow me around like a poodle-"

"Actually, Lieutenant, he's joining me on my request," I stated as I stepped up as well. 

"Oh really?" Hank snorted, looking back to his food being made. "What was your request?" he asked.

"I'm sorry for my behavior back at the police station." Connor began, moving closer to Hank. "I didn't mean to be unpleasant."

"Oh, wow..." Hank muttered, shaking his head. "You've even got a brown-nosing apology program!" He then chuckled and smiled to himself. "Guys at CyberLife thought of everything, huh?" Then the worker behind the window turned around, Hanks's food in his hands.

"Here you go." he said handing them over.

"Ah, thanks, Garry. I'm starving..." Hank took the food with a smile and a nod of thanks before turning. He started to walk off and I did the same before we heard Gary once more.

"Don't leave that thing here!" 

"Huh, not a chance! Follows me and the detective here everywhere..." Hank chuckled as he turned back to look at Connor with an actual smile this time. I let my shoulders relax and followed Hank. Sure enough, there were footsteps close behind our own. Hank stood at a nearby table so he could eat and I stood near him. "You didn't want anything?" He asked looking to me, gesturing with his burger. I shrugged.

"Not really my taste, plus I'm not horribly hungry at the moment." Hank nodded and returned his attention to his food. Connor joined us and leaned his forearms on the table, looking to the food Hank was eating.

"Your meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level," Connor noted, glancing up to Hank from the food. Hank looked over to Connor, pausing in his chewing when he heard Connor speak and looking to his burger. "You shouldn't eat that." Connor finished. Hank shrugged.

"Everybody's gotta die of something..." he said with a smirk before he took a big bite of the burger. I chuckled lightly. It was a fair statement. And if he was going to eat that, he may as well enjoy it.

"Do you eat here often?" Connor asked. Hank nodded, swallowing before he spoke.

"Most days, Gary makes the best burger in Detroit." I nodded. I had heard many things about this place from a few friends, and Hank, but again, I never really found an interest in trying it. Connor looked over to me as Hank continued eating, and I wordlessly gestured to Hank. This was certainly better than before, but there was still more to be done.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about me?" Connor asked, turning back to Hank.

"Hell, no." the answer was immediate, but then Hank held up his hand. "Well, yeah, um... Why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?" I knew I made a face, but luckily Hank didn't see it. As per my internal monologue, I thought he had a nice face, and his voice was... well it was a tad robotic, obvious internal joke is obvious, but the tone was kind of comforting, at least in my opinion.

"CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration." Hank nodded slowly as he spoke.

"Well, they fucked up." I hid my snort behind a cough, which luckily went unnoticed. That kind of dead delivery of that kind of response hit in my exact humor. Connor said nothing about this, and honestly, I was a bit thankful for that. I'm also glad I didn't say anything either. 

"Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" Connor asked. Hank nodded, "Why do you hate androids so much?" Hank got quiet, but this time he didn't seem particularly upset or angry.

"I have my reasons," he said simply, and went back to the burger, taking another bite.

"Perhaps we should talk about the deviants?" I suggested, looking between the two of them. 

"You read my mind," Hank replied, his attention turning to me when I spoke. I nodded and turned to Connor. 

"Connor, do you think you could go over the evidence we've collected?" Connor nodded and straightened up.

"We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion."

"In English, please." Hank interjected.

"They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behavior." Hank nodded.

"Emotions are complicated things, and powerful things at that." I nodded, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by them in a human mind, where, technically speaking, we're used to emotions. When in the mind of an android, in the programming, they get overwhelmed by something like this? I can only imagine it would be a complete break in programming to experience such things.

"Emotions always screw everything up..." Hank muttered after he set his drink down, "Maybe androids aren't as different from us as we thought." I glanced up at that. He was right, at least, that line of thinking was right, and it was something I had considered previously. Maybe they aren't so different. "You ever dealt with deviants before?" Hank asked Connor. Connor paused and I frowned when I saw his LED flash yellow for a moment, but only a moment, before it was blue once more.

"A few months back... A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl. I managed to save her." he shifted his stance, and then looked to me. "It's actually where I met Detective Murphy. I nodded, confirming as such when Hank looked over to me. He nodded and turned back to Connor.

"So, I guess you've done all your homework, right?" he asked, "Know everything there is to know about me?" he sipped from his drink once more, maintaining eye contact with Connor.

"I know you graduated top of your class." Connor began. "You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit." I was certainly impressed by that. I knew that Hank was incredibly good at what he did, and he held many accomplishments, but that was rather impressive. "I also know you've received disciplinary warnings in recent years and... you spend a lot of time in bars." 

Hank glanced up to him, raising an eyebrow before he lifted his chin. "So, what's your conclusion?"

Connor seemed to think about this for a moment before speaking, and when he did, he sounded incredibly sincere. "I think working with an officer with personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features." He winked, the corner of his lip quirking up in a damned smirk, and for reasons unbeknownst to me I felt my cheeks grow warm. Then he blinked a few times, his LED turning yellow for a solid few moments, and then it turned back to blue. "I just got a report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away, we should go have a look." I nodded in agreement, straightening myself out and looking to Hank. "I'll let you finish your meal. I'll be in the car, if you need me." Connor continued before looking to me. I could only smile. 

"I'll join him, time to get out of this rain for a minute. Enjoy your food, Hank." I said turning to the Lieutenant and giving him a slight wave of my hand. He raised his cup in return and I turned, following Connor back to Hank's car. I looked to the android and I felt myself smiling without a reason to. He was certainly adapting to Hank's personality style, and I definitely thought that would help us. There was something about him that was... attractive in more ways than one, not just the physcial one, but the way he was carrying himself as he learned. He looked, well, relaxed wasn't correct, but he seemed to be adjusting very well to being in this dynamic. I slid into the backseat of Hank's car once more and let out a sigh, happy to be in a dry location for the moment and pleased with how this interaction had gone. Hopefully, Hank would join us soon, and we could get going to find this new deviant.

***

"Connor?" I asked, looking back behind us when I didn't hear the android's footsteps following Hank and I. He was standing a few feet behind us, still in the elevator we had just left. His LED was yellow and he was incredibly still. Worried, I approached him, but Hank just called back to him. 

"Hey, Connor!" Connor's eyes opened and he looked up at the louder sound. "You ran outta batteries or what?"

"I'm sorry, I was making a report to CyberLife." Hank nodded and turned to keep walking. I did the same, but Connor remained for another moment and I looked back. 

"Did you want to follow us?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, I'm coming." Connor stated before stepping out of the elevator and following us into the hallway.

"What do we know about this guy?" Hank asked.

"Not much. Just that a neighbor reported that he heard strange noises coming from this floor." Connor followed after us now. "Nobody's supposed to be living here, but the neighbor said he saw a man hiding a LED under his cap. Hank sighed heavily.

"Oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops." 

"I agree, it's not exactly the best use of our time." I shrugged, "But, since it involves a report like that, it might be helpful to check this out." 

"Maybe." Hank muttered, emphasizing the word. He then turned back to Connor, "Hey, were you really makin' a report back there in the elevator? Just by closing your eyes?"

"Correct." Connor stated before he knelt down to inspect a large area of the floor covered in... bird feathers?

"Shit... Wish I could do that." Hank chuckled. I knelt down next to Connor.

"Feathers?" I asked, my brow furrowing as I turned to look at the android.

"From the Columbia Livia, the rock pigeon," Connor confirmed as he stood back up, and I did the same. Why were there so many of them? I looked around the hallway we were standing in. It seemed like at one point this was a rather lovely building, but it was... incredibly desolate-looking now. 

"Shall we go in?" I asked after a moment. Hank shrugged and gestured to the door.

"Be my guest," he stated. I stepped up and knocked firmly on the door a few times, listening for a response afterward. When there was none I looked to Hank, who shrugged. I turned to the door and knocked again, harder this time.

"Anybody home?" I called out. There was scuffling inside and Connor moved closer to listen before he spoke this time, his voice carrying louder than mine did I'm sure.

"Open up! Detroit Police!" The scuffling got louder and Hank frowned, moving from his spot next to the door. "Stay behind me." he told the both of us firmly. 

"Got it." Connor replied and I nodded as Hank drew his pistol. He stepped forward and then gave the door a swift and hard kick, and it swung open without much resistance. Hank walked in, pistol still drawn and ready, and the sounds got louder. I drew my own weapon and followed in after him. Hank stepped forward and kicked one of the other doors in, looking inside the room before moving on. Connor and I followed behind him, and I checked the rooms afterward, just to make sure they were clear. When we got to the door at the end of the short hallway Hank waited for us, and when we got closer, he kicked that door in and went to run inside, but was bombarded by a flurry of pigeons. I held my arms up quickly, not wanting to get hit in the face by one.

"What the fuck is this?!" Hank exclaimed as he entered the room. That was certainly my thought when I stepped inside. There were pigeons just... everywhere in this room. I covered my nose as the smell hit me and I fought back a gag. 

"Jesus, this place stinks!" I coughed and made a face.

"My thoughts exactly," Hank grunted as he tried to clear out the pigeons. "Uh, looks like we came for nothin', our man's gone..." he muttered as he lowered his pistol. Connor stepped into the room to our right, which had just more pigeons, and there was an odd drawing on the wall. I walked into the room as well, trying to side-step the pigeons, until I was standing in front of a UFO poster which was... well, it wasn't the oddest decoration here, though it was interesting.

"I wonder what this poster is for..." I murmured, leaning in to see if there was anything written on it, or just, well, any reason that it would be there. Connor stepped over as well, looking at the poster for a minute.

"It's been recently put here." he said, reaching up to hold one of the corners of the poster, ripping it aside to fully reveal the hole in the wall behind it. There was a book, sitting on some of the broken boards.

"A book?" I asked as Connor reached forward and picked it up, opening it. His eyebrows scrunched up and he looked confused. I looked to the contents and found myself making a similar expression. This was... very strange to say the least.

"Found something?" Hank asked as he walked into the room.

"I don't know..." Connor murmured as he turned around. "It looks like a notebook but it's... indecipherable."

"Indecipherable?"

"That large symbol on the wall, it's drawn on every page, and it's... well, I couldn't make any sense of it from what I saw." I said as I looked around the room, walking over to what appeared to be a closet. I opened the doors and stumbled back when more pigeons flew out at me. Embarrassingly enough, I stumbled right into Connor's chest. His hands immediately grabbed my upper arms and steadied me. 

"Be careful," he said, making sure I was upright once more. I turned around and nodded.

"Thank you," I said offering a, slightly sheepish, smile. The surprising thing was, Connor offered one in return, but it was very brief, and then he walked away, over to the small fridge at the wall across from the closet. I was going to follow, but then Hank tripped over one of the pigeons and stumbled forward. 

"Agh! Jesus I hate these things!" he snapped as several of them rushed away from him. I stifled my smile and walked over to what looked like a bed of some sort. I frowned when I saw what looked like a military jacket, with the initials R.T. sewn on it.

"R.T." I jumped and turned quickly, seeing Connor standing right behind me. I let out a breath and stood up. 

"They're probably initials." I said as I dusted myself off. 

"He put his initials on his jacket?" Hank asked as he walked over to where we were standing. "That's something your mom does when you're in first grade..."

"It looks like a military jacket, which is an odd thing to just leave lying around." I frowned as I looked back to the jacket. When I looked up, Connor had walked over to the bookshelf that was by the doorway, and picked something up. "What did you find?" I asked, stepping closer to him.

"The driver's license is fake." he said turning to face me. 

"Cool! At least we didn't come here for nothing..." Hank grunted and continued looking around the room. A military jacket and a fake ID. This was turning into something a bit more interesting than just pigeons.

"I wonder if there's a reason these pigeons are just staying here..." I paused and thought. "Is there any food around? Or something they would be attracted to?" I asked, looking to both Hank and Connor. Hank shrugged, but then Connor lifted up what looked like a container of bird food.

"It looks like the suspect was feeding them this." he said before setting it back down. I walked over to look at the container. So the suspect cared about the birds at least, which was certainly an interesting quality. I walked into the bathroom next, glancing around the room before I looked to the sink. There was definitely something in there, but honestly,  
I wasn't willing to put my bare hands into it. 

"Hey, Connor?" I asked, turning to see him already at the doorway. "Oh! Shit, you're really quiet." I chuckled lightly, then cleared my throat. "There's something in the sink here, do you think you could figure out what it is?" I asked. Connor nodded and walked over, glancing in the sink before reaching in and pressing his fingers in... whatever was in there. He then raised his fingers to his lips, licking them before staring at them, I assume he was processing whatever it was. His brow furrowed.

"This is... Thirium." he concluded. 

"Birdseed, I can't believe it." Hank grumbled as he walked over to the bathroom, probably to see what we were looking at. I reached to the side of the sink and picked up a small disk. My eyes widened when I realized what it was and I turned, showing it to the both of them.

"Its LED was in the sink." Connor said after just a moment of silence. Hank shrugged and looked around.

"Not surprised it was an android. No human could live with all these fuckin' pigeons..." he grumbled before stepping out of the bathroom. 

"Detective Murphy." Connor said from beside me now. I sighed.

"You know, you can call me-..." when I turned I gaped, my words catching in my throat for a moment as I saw the writing all over the wall. "Robin..." I murmured, stepping closer. "rA9... the same thing the other deviant wrote..." I frowned and walked to the bathroom doorway. "Hank, there's more writing on the wall in here," I waved him over and he followed, walking back into the bathroom and glancing at the wall.

"Any idea what it means?" he asked.

"rA9, written 2471 times..." Connor turned a bit, his expression perplexed. "It's the same sign Ortiz's android wrote on the shower wall... Why are they obsessed with this sign?" Hank stepped closer to the wall, studying it.

"Looks like mazes or something..." I frowned in thought, and Connor knelt by the toppled wooden stool that was lying on the ground. After a minute, he stood up quickly. 

"What is it?" I asked, but he held up his hand, walking into the living room now. Hank looked after him and frowned. 

"Did he find something?" he asked, but I could only shrug in response. I had no idea what he found, but it had something to do with the wooden stool, so I knelt down as well, and found what looked like a marker. 

"This might be the marker that the suspect used. Maybe he's still close by?" I suggested.

"Maybe..." Hank muttered, walking into the living room, I followed after him. Connor was kneeling by the fallen birdcage, but then he stood slowly and looked towards the hole in the ceiling. I looked there as well, and Hank did the same. He strode over to the chair just below it and he got on the chair, reaching up to the hole, and then he was tackled to the ground by a man. Hank and I jumped back as the suspect scrambled off of Connor and started running. "God damn fuckin' pigeons!" Hank exclaimed.

"He's getting away!" I yelled, running after the suspect, hearing Connor following behind me. This was mostly a guess based on the lack of cursing, but also the speed at which he ran. He quickly overtook me and ran past, darting out into the hallway, his shoes skidding before he began running again. The suspect pushed down a metal shelving unit after running by it and Connor hopped over it. I was quick to follow, and got my footing after the jump just as Connor burst through the roof entrance door. I wasn't nearly as fast, but I ran as quickly as I could to help with the chase. I followed Connor's methods, jumping over the ventilation unit and to the edge of the concrete area. They were both incredibly fast on foot, but I knew Connor could keep up with him at least. Landing in the grass wasn't something I was expecting after the jump, but I had to roll with it. Blood pounded in my ears as I raced after the two androids, following behind Connor to a larger wall with a UFO container just before it. Damn Connor was a rabbit! I jumped on and used that momentum to leap onto the next level just as he did, and barely made it, but I did make it. 

I could hear Hank's voice somewhere behind me, but I couldn't focus on that now. I had a suspect to catch. When I saw Connor leap onto a bale of hay, I saw where he was going and internally cursed everything, but pushed myself, jumping off just after he did and scrambled onto the bales on the sitting truck. The next leap was easier, just a small jump onto the next concrete landing. There were workers here, which would definitely make this more difficult, but there was a path that was more open, and surprise, I followed Connor through. Honestly, he was an android, following him seemed like the smarter idea since he probably had at least most of this mapped out. We raced past the greenhouse and the android workers, dodging pallets and I jumped over hoses, knowing I would get tripped on one if I didn't. I saw the suspect leap over the edge by the brick building and I internally groaned. Fuck I was going to be sore the next day. I once more followed Connor and jumped over, sliding down the glass and leaping through the already broken section. I hit hard and stumbled, and once again Connor grabbed my arm, pulling me up and righting me without even looking, then he took off, and I was quick to follow.

We could see him closer now, he wasn't going to get away, not if we had anything to say about it. He exited through the opening up a flight of stairs and into the light. Once we got to the top, though, the door closed on us. "Shit!" I exclaimed, but Connor quickly turned and ran into a room full of lavender. If I wasn't chasing a suspect, I would have stopped and admired the smell. When he took off towards the barrels and equipment on the other side, I knew for sure he was taking the fastest route, but damned if I wouldn't internally complain. He ran up the ramp and jumped onto the equipment, leaping up to grab the ledge and pull himself up, and I was only a breath behind him now. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but I didn't find it so hard to keep up with him now. When I pulled myself up, I saw the suspect and he was even closer now! We were going to get him! He jumped over the other side of the roof and Connor disappeared after him. I followed right after and once more slid down the panels of glass. There were some open ones, and luckily I avoided them, but then I saw where we were jumping and I took a few breaths to stabilize myself before launching myself off and landing on a damned train. A train! This was certainly more exciting than many of my past missions. I could see Hank on the building we had just jumped off of and even from there I could see the shock on his face. 

I turned back to Connor and the suspect, and when Connor jumped onto the ladder quickly approaching where I was, I readied myself and jumped on right afterwards, quickly hoisting myself up and still racing after the two of them. My lungs were burning, but I knew I had to keep running with Connor, if nothing else my own pride was at stake now. We weaved through the trees growing in this landing, dodging workers, ladders, and hoses as they appeared in our path. We turned and I saw the suspect climb onto a higher landing. "Ah, fuck." I hissed as Connor jumped up. Once he got up I took a running leap and just barely made it, grabbing the ledge and hauling myself up. I raced over the concrete, between the solar panels, and jumped up onto another ledge, racing after Connor in front of me. This time, Connor ran right through the people working there. I squared my shoulders and ran right after, pushing aside the surroundings and just running. If I didn't think about it, then I could just dodge on sheer instinct. Connor leaped over the row of plants next to us and I ducked under them, sliding out behind him and running after him. I slipped beside one of the workers and then slid underneath the tables once more, still behind the two of them. 

When we exited the building this time, though, it was just thick greenery. I was racing blindly now, just barely following the blue on Connor's jacket, and praying that we would exit the field of corn soon. I heard Hank again, telling the suspect to stop, and I vaguely wondered how the hell he caught up with us, and wishing I had gone with him now. When we burst from the corn, Hank was grappling with the suspect. The suspect shoved Hank away and over the edge of the building.

"HANK!" I yelled. Connor stopped, and I saw the yellow flash from his LED, but he ran after the suspect, leaping over the next landing. "Shit!" I hissed as I raced over to Hank. I grabbed his hand just as his fingers slipped and he grabbed my arm, grunting when the momentum stopped as my lower half caught the edge of the building. I grunted as my own body stopped suddenly and pain shot through me, but I just tried to pull him back over the edge, grunting and cursing as I used the remaining adrenaline to get him close enough so he could help me get himself up. With a final grunt I hauled him over and fell back, panting heavily. Hank huffed as he pulled himself up to his hands and knees.

"Holy fuck..." he breathed before pulling himself into a standing position before he reached to help me up. "Thanks, I owe you one." I nodded and accepted the help. Once I had righted myself we both started off after Connor. 

"... and will be sent back to CyberLife for deactivation." I heard Connor saying as we approached the edge of the roof. I looked over to the suspect, the other android, and he just looked scared, and defeated. Hank, panting, walked past Connor, looked to him, and then the android.

"Don't you fucking move!" he huffed out before whirling around and slapping Connor across the face. I gasped, but I swallowed anything else for the moment. "You bastard!" Hank yelled. "You saw I was gonna fall and you'd rather let me die than fail your fucking mission!" He snapped, his face red and angrier than I had ever seen. "Fucking Murphy saved my damn ass and almost fell with me! You could have killed us both!" Connor stepped back.

"I had to make a choice... It seemed to me-"

"What am I to you? What are we to you? Statistics?" Hank asked, his voice raising as he stepped closer to Connor. "'Zeros', 'ones' in your fucking program? Huh?! Is that how you see humans, you bastard?!" I stood next to Hank. I hated it, no, honestly I didn't hate it. He was right. Despite any probability that could have been calculated, one wrong move and the both of us would have died.

"I understand you're upset... Perhaps I didn't assess th-" 

"Fuck you and your fuckin assessment!" Connor looked to me then, but I didn't say anything, I couldn't. Yes, I was there, I did save Hank, so technically, Connor didn't have to, but again, that was too risky. Hank stormed over to the android and grabbed his arm. "Come here." he said, grabbing the android's other arm and pulling them behind his back.

"Why are you doing this?" the android asked, looking to Connor, his eyes big and pleading, questioning. 

"Alright," Hank muttered.

"You're one of us!" the android yelled at Connor.

"Shut up!" Hank snapped as he got the handcuffs on him, clicking them shut.

"You're helping humans... But you're just their slave!" I frowned, still breathing heavily as I walked over.

"I said shut up!" Hank snapped, hitting the android's head hard. 

"Hank!" I snapped, and that quieted him. The android just stared at Connor, who didn't say anything in return. "Come on," Hank nodded and pulled the android along. We walked a few feet before the android spoke again, softly, I almost didn't hear, but I caught it.

"rA9, save me." he whispered before he broke from Hank's grasp, turning and running.

"Hey! What the f-"

"NO!" 

But it was too late. Even racing after him, my fingers just barely grazed his jacket as he leaped off the building, and Hank grabbed my arm to pull me back on. My eyes were wide as I watched him fall, hitting a parked car on the ground and setting the alarm off.

"Holy shit..." Hank breathed, standing next to me now, my arm still in his grip. "Fucking androids." I heard him hiss and I looked up to him. His grip loosened on my arm and he turned. "Come on, Murphy," he said before he walked from where we came. I nodded and followed him, turning back after a few feet to see Connor looking at me, but I didn't have words to say. I just sighed, my head lowering, and turned back to follow Hank. Those same footsteps followed behind though after a moment, and even though I was incredibly upset, in pain, and frustrated with so many things, the knowledge that Connor was following still inexplicably comforted me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woo!! One more! Next chapter will take place in the Eden Club!

I set the ice pack I had been resting on my hip back in the freezer, it wasn't helping much anyhow, and through consistent care it seemed to be getting less painful. The way I had hit it had made it a bitch of a bruise, and it would take some time before it would heal completely, but this was progress. I rolled my shoulders and stretched, running my fingers through my hair and feeling how much longer it had gotten. I would need to shave it down soon, or make another hair appointment. That might actually be better. I made a note of it, and went to grab the beer I had been nursing throughout the night. I didn't normally turn to alcohol, but that night, I felt like I needed it. I took a swig and swallowed, sighing softly and setting the bottle down once more. I began walking to the living room again when I heard a knock on the door of my apartment. I frowned and stepped over, glancing through the peephole, and I was surprised to see Connor, standing on my doorstep. My brow furrowed and I reached for the doorknob, pulling the door open. "Connor?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Detective Murphy," Connor greeted me, still standing on the doorstep, "I was wondering if I may have a minute of your time. I have an update in the case, and I'll need both you and Lieutenant Anderson to-"

"Connor, hold on," I held my hand up, and then looked over his shoulder, seeing a car waiting on the road in front of the building. "Is that car waiting for us?" I asked. He nodded the affirmative and I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Well, there went my plan to get some sleep. "Alright, but we need to talk on the way to... where are we going? The bar?" I asked, grabbing my coat from the hook by the door, and actually relieved that I hadn't taken my work clothes off yet. Connor paused and I looked up from grabbing my shoes. "Connor?"

"Actually, I've checked most of the places that the Lieutenant would be, and he wasn't there, so I was assuming he would be at his house, but I wanted to retrieve you as well." Connor stated, watching me as I tugged on my shoes and tied the laces hastily.

"And you've been riding around in the taxi?" I asked, Connor nodded and I sighed once more, "That cab is making bank on this I'm sure." I muttered, standing up once I finished. "Let's go." I grabbed my keys and reached to pet the lump of sleeping black fur that was my cat on the windowsill by the door. I didn't have it in my personal budget to get a dog, yet, but Eclipse was a rescue, so I could afford him. I stepped out beside Connor and shut the front door, locking the apartment up and making sure I had my phone and wallet on me just in case before I headed to the cab, hearing him follow behind me once more. I stopped just before the car and opened the door to it, looking to Connor when he paused. After a moment of confusion from the android I raised an eyebrow and used my hand to gesture to the inside of the car. "Come on," I said, "We don't have all night," Connor then slowly stepped closer and got into the car. I shut the door once he was in and got into the car on the other side. I plugged Hank's address into the GPS and sat back, taking a deep breath.

A minute or so passed before Connor spoke again. "You said we needed to talk?" he asked, turning to look at me. I nodded and rolled my neck to stretch some.

"I do want us to be a team, the three of us." I began, looking to the back of the driver's seat. "That does mean figuring out what matters, in situations like the one earlier today," Connor opened his mouth and I held my hand up. "I know, you probably calculated his survival and deemed it okay to let me handle it, but Hank was right, we both could have died, I almost couldn't get him back up, and the deviant killed himself anyways." I saw a bit of yellow in my peripheral vision and from that I could tell that hit something in Connor's programming. "I still like you, Connor, I'm a bit damaged myself in that way, I always look for the best in others, but you do need to understand that we're human, and honestly, I would have saved you, if you were in Hank's place, and I know he would have tried to save you too."

"But the deviant-"

"Was ahead of us anyways." I cut him off. "It's human, it's emotional, and it's irrational, but it's who I..." I looked over to Connor, who held an odd expression on his face, "Who we are," I shifted and looked in front of me again. "I've forgiven you for today, because I know you did what you thought was right." I saw his shoulders relax just a bit, but he was still stiff. "It might take more for Hank to forgive you, but I know he's soft at heart, I've heard the stories from people who've known him longer." I chuckled lightly and looked to Connor once more. "It might take as long as my bruises heal, but he'll come around.

"Bruises?" Connor asked, his head tilting. I chuckled and shook my head.

"I bruise easily, Connor, and they last a while, it's alright," I rolled my shoulder again and sat back. We were close anyhow, so I would ask Connor about the new development after we got Hank. We pulled up in front of his house and the taxi came to a stop, the automated voice beginning.

"You have reached your destination. Thank you for travelling with Detroit Taxis. We look forward to seeing you again soon." The doors opened and Connor stepped out. I stepped out on the other side and walked over to stand next to Connor. The house was dark, but the porch light was on. I walked up to the front door, Connor close behind me, and I tried knocking. 

"Lieutenant?" I called, and was silent for a moment. There was no response so Connor tried knocking.

"Lieutenant Anderson?" he called out. When there was no answer that time, Connor reached over and rang the doorbell. "Anybody home?" he called. He tried the doorbell again, pressing and holding it for a solid five seconds. The sound was loud and prominent, but there was still no answer. Now I was a bit worried. 

"Maybe we should look inside," I suggested walking to the window to our right. When I peeked through the gap in the blinds, I saw an incredibly large dog sleeping. I smiled. That must be Sumo. He was certainly cute, but there was no Hank. I frowned and looked back to Connor. "You try looking in the windows on that side, I'll look around back." I directed before heading around the back of the house. The first window I saw was a smaller one, and when I looked in I saw Sumo more clearly, he was sitting up now. I smiled and walked to the next window, which the blinds were pulled to the side. When I looked inside Hank was lying on the floor, one of the chairs knocked over by his head. My eyes widened and I immediately tried to see if I could open the window from this side. "Connor!!" I shouted, running to where I had directed him to be before when there was no luck on opening the window. His LED flashed yellow when I ran over and I grabbed his hand, hauling him over to where I had been before. He looked inside and the LED stayed yellow. 

"Lieutenant Anderson?" he called. When that did nothing, he pushed me back a bit and quickly broke the window with his elbow. He stepped back and then dove through the window, clearing some of the shards on his way in, and I followed, trying to be careful of the glass as I got inside. Once inside I looked up and saw Sumo standing right in front of us. "Argh! Easy..." Connor said, hoping to soothe the large dog. He stepped closer and Connor held his hand up. "Sumo..." he tried saying his name, and I stayed still, not wanting to agitate the large dog. "We're your friends, see?" Connor tried smiling at Sumo. "I know your name, and Detective Murphy is my friend. We're here to save your owner..." That seemed to do it. Sumo licked his nose and then turned, walking away from Connor, and my shoulders relaxed as I let out a breath. I then got up and ran over to Hank, frowning deeply at the sight of the gun just out of his hand, and the whiskey bottle nearby. 

"Ah, fuck, Hank..." I held my hand in front of his mouth and sighed in relief when I felt air. He was breathing at least. I looked up and Connor was looking over Hank, probably analyzing him. "Is he okay? I mean..." I trailed off when Connor's LED turned blue once more.

"Lieutenant?" he asked, reaching forward and patting Hank's cheek a couple times. He earned a grunt, but nothing more. "Wake up, Lieutenant!" Hank's head lolled and he opened his eyes a bit, but then they closed. Then Connor slapped him, hard, and that earned more of a grunt and he seemed to wake up. I winced at the force of the smack, but it did give results. "It's me, Connor. And Detective Murphy is here with me," I would try to get him to use my first name another time. He then reached to grab Hank's arm and lifted it up before pulling Hank into a sitting position. "I'm going to sober you up for your own safety." 

"Hey!... Leave me alone, you fuckin' android!" Hank slurred, his body slumping against Connor's.

"I have to warn you, this may be unpleasant." Connor stated as he pulled Hank up.

"Get the fuck outta my house!" Hank slurred in reply to that as he was pulled up. I stood up as well.

"Do you need any help?" I asked, even though I was positive that Connor could move Hank, even if he was drunk. Connor looked to me and he nodded. 

"Possibly," then he looked to Hank, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but we need you." I got Hank's other arm and put it over my shoulder before both Connor and I pulled him into a standing position, or something approximating as such. "Thank you in advance for your cooperation." Connor stated once he was upright.

"Fuckin'... get the fuck outta here! Murph... fuckin'... when did you get here?" he slurred once he turned to me. "Ah, don' matter, get the fuck outta my house!" He slumped back and we both righted him. 

"We're taking him to the bathroom," Connor informed me, and I nodded, moving in tandem with the android to get Hank's drunk ass to the bathroom.

"Sumo! Attack!" Hank slurred. Sumo barked in response and Hank grinned, "Good dog." I chuckled lightly and continued to help carry him to the bathroom. Once there, Connor lowered the arm he was holding and I grunted, holding Hank up to the best of my ability. "Fuck, I think I'm gonna be sick..." he muttered.

"Please, not on me," I said, half as a joke, but half serious. I did not feel like cleaning vomit off of my clothes. Connor opened the door and then returned to help me, and Hank tried to pull away.

"Ah! Leave me alone, you assholes! I'm not going anywhere..." We hauled him in and then Connor took over, pulling him away and over to the tub. "What the hell are you doing?" Hank asked. Then Connor sat him on the edge and Hank looked around, confused. "I don't wanna bath, thank you..." he slurred, trying to wave Connor away and stand.

"Sorry, Lieutenant." Connor apologized before pushing him more firmly into the tub. "It's for your own good." he then reached over and turned the water on, shooting what was surly freezing water from the showerhead right onto Hank. He yelled in shock and flailed around.

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" he yelled and I covered my mouth to stifle a chuckle. Connor turned the water off and Hank instently relaxed, panting softly. He then looked up to Connor, and then to me, as if he was seeing us for the first time. "What the fuck are you two doing here?"

"A homicide was reported 43 minutes ago." Connor answered, "I couldn't find you at Jimmy's bar, so I got Detective Murphy and we came to see if you were at home." Hank sighed heavily.

"Jesus, why couldn't you just take Murphy with you?" Hank muttered before hauling himself up, "I must be the only cop in the world that gets assaulted in his own house by his own fuckin' android and fuckin' detective..." He sat on the edge of the tub and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Can't you just leave me alone?" he asked, looking up at Connor. 

"He was programmed to investigate the case, and I'm sure since I was only recently added to this team he still requires you for this." I said stepping forward, offering one of the towels that were hanging on the towel rack by the door.

"I don't give a shit about your goddamn case!" Hank snapped grabbing the towel.

"Lieutenant," Connor started, "you're not yourself. You should-"

"Beat it! You hear me?! Both of you get the hell outta here!" he yelled, standing up quickly. Then he stumbled and Connor grabbed him to steady him, and helped him sit back down on the edge of the tub. I reached to put a hand on his shoulder and looked up to Connor. Connor was silent for a moment, but then started talking.

"I understand. It probably wasn't interesting anyway..." My face scrunched up a bit in confusion. What? Connor turned and started to walk away slowly, gesturing that I do the same when Hank's head was lowered. "A man found dead in a sex club downtown..." I then saw what he was doing and grinned before feigning a nonchalant expression.

"Guess they'll have to solve the case without us..." I said, glancing over my shoulder. Hank sat up a bit straighter, raising his head up.

"You know, probably wouldn't do me any harm to get some air..." he said, holding himself up on the side of the tub. "There're some clothes in the bedroom there." 

"I'll go get them." Connor stated before leaving the bathroom. I nodded and went to stand by the doorway. "What do you want to wear?" Connor called from the bedroom.

"Whatever," Hank groused, and I walked over. 

"Would you like to try standing up yet?" I asked, bending down some. Hank was quiet and then grunted, shaking his head once. I nodded and stood back up. It would probably be best to let him sit for a minute anyway. Then he suddenly got up and pushed me away from the toilet, opening it up and vomiting. I winced and knelt down, putting my hand on his back. It didn't do much to help, but a comforting hand never hurt. He coughed a few times an Connor walked back into the bathroom. I looked up to him and gave him a sheepish look.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Connor asked as he set the clothes on the side of the sink.

"Yeah... yeah..." he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "wonderful... Just a... Give me five minutes, okay?" he asked. I nodded and stood.

"Sure," Connor agreed, and I followed him to the door, wincing when I heard Hank vomiting again and we left, shutting the door behind us.

"Poor Hank," I murmured as he walked away from the bathroom, at least he was getting this out of his stomach. I glanced over to the television, which was still playing, and walked over as a news report started.

"President Warren issued an official warning to Russian in her speech to Congress today, where she demanded that all Russian troops withdraw from the Arctic region immediately." I noticed that Connor had walked into the bedroom, but I chose to instead sit on the couch and relax a little bit. "The Kremlin has yet to respond, but this is clearly a new escalation in the conflict. Many experts are suggesting the specter of a third world war draws closer every day..." I frowned and sighed. The conflicts globally were more exhausting to watch than anything. There was just so much going on it was hard to keep up on the day-to-day. The report droned on and Sumo walked over and rested his head in my lap. I smiled and reached to pat his head. He was a very good dog, that was for sure. I looked behind me. Connor was still in the bedroom. I'm sure he was just gathering information so he could connect with Hank. I hoped they would be able to at least be civil.

"Your dad takes good care of you, doesn't he?" I asked Sumo, earning a soft woof in response and I chuckled and rubbed the top of his head, scratching his ear. That tail started thumping and I smiled. Then I heard footsteps and I saw Hank walking into the bedroom. He looked a lot better from what I could see, and I stood up, gently moving Sumo aside. Then both Connor and Hank walked into the room and I grinned. He definitely looked better now that he was properly dressed and was able to rest some. Sumo walked over to Hank and looked up to him. 

"Be a good dog, Sumo." he said reaching to pet him. "I won't be long." Sumo gave a small ruff and walked over to lay down in front of the television as Hank walked to the front door. "We'll take my car," Hank muttered, reaching to grab his keys. 

"I'll drive." I said grabbing them first. Hank gave me a look and I simply smiled. "I'll drive there, and you can drive back once you're more sober."

"I'm sober now!"

"You're more awake now, but not quite sober," I shook my head. "I promise, I'm a good driver," I chuckled as I walked out the door first and once they both walked out, I locked the door. I wasn't about to let Hank drive until he was completely back to where he needed to be. He grumbled something to the effect of fuckin' blood alcohol doesn't mean he can't drive, but I simply walked to his car and unlocked it getting into the driver's seat and starting it up. The other two got in as well, Hank in the passenger seat and Connor sitting in the back. We then began our journey to the Eden Club.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something different about Connor now...

When we pulled up to the club Hank groaned, holding his head. "Aw... Feels like somebody's playing with a drill inside my skull..." I chuckled lightly and parked the car.

"That's what happens when you down a bottle of whiskey, you really need to be careful with that," I said as I unbuckled. Hank rolled his eyes and did the same.

"Well, I didn't expect to be dragged out of my own damn house until tomorrow morning," he retorted, opening the door and getting out before slamming the door shut. I chuckled and got out as well, followed shortly by Connor. "You sure this is the place?" he asked once he looked up to the building.

"It's the address in the report," Connor said looking to the both of us and Hank nodded.

"Right... Okay." he huffed and put his hands in his pockets. "Let's get going," he muttered before heading towards the building. "Sexiest androids in town..." Hank chuckled and looked over to Connor, "Now I know why you insisted on coming here!" I laughed.

"Please, you were all over coming here when we said it was a sex club." I looked over to Connor, grinning, but noticed he was looking at me again with that odd expression, and his LED was yellow. I frowned, "Connor, are you alright?" I asked. He blinked and then nodded, his LED turning blue again. "Were you sending a report?" I asked. 

"Uh, yes, I was sending another report," Connor said quickly, "Let's go inside," I raised my eyebrow. That... that wasn't the truth, but I wondered what caused him to do that. I shook my head and followed him in past the holographic police tape. We walked down the entryway, illuminated in pinks and deep purples, definitely setting the mood as the next room was a deep blue theme, with... admittedly rather attractive androids in tubes, showing themselves off. I was... honestly in awe. I hadn't had the chance to come in here before, so this was certainly new. I followed the both of them into the next room, with an android pole dancing. I followed close behind Hank up to the owner of the establishment, who looked flustered and anxious as he was talking to an officer.

"You're not gonna take my license, are you? I mean, ha, I had nothing to do with this!"

"The investigation's ongoing, sir, I can't tell you anything for the moment." The officer then turned and smiled when he saw Hank. "Hey, Hank!" Hank waved in a familiar greeting.

"Hey, Ben. How's it goin'?" he asked. 

"As good as it can be, I suppose. It's that room there. Oh, uh, by the way... Gavin's in there too." Hank's face turned sour and he sighed. 

"Oh, great." he muttered, "A dead body and an asshole, just what I needed..." He sighed and turned to me and Connor. "Let's go," he said as he walked to the room. The door opened automatically and Hank stepped in, Connor going in right after him. I walked in after the two and the scene was definitely a sight. The victim lay on the bed, only partially covered by red silk sheets, and a deactivated android lay in the corner of the room. 

"Shit..." I muttered. It wasn't exactly gruesome, but still not fun, especially since Gavin was there. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this, but I could be civil.

"Lieutenant Anderson, his plastic pet... and the android lover. The fuck are you three doin' here?" My eyes narrowed and I felt my shoulders tense up. I didn't know why he made me so angry, I mean, he was just being an asshole, just as Hank had said.

"We've been assigned all cases involving androids," Connor answered Reed, his expression calm as ever.

"Oh, yeah?" Gavin asked. "Well, you're wasting your time. Just some pervert who, uh, got more action than he could handle." Reed laughed at his own comment and I frowned.

"We'll have a look anyway, if you don't mind." Hank said, brushing him off as he stepped further into the room. Gavin scoffed and he turned to the officer that was with him.

"Come on, let's go." he said before walking past us, "It's uh, starting to stink of booze in here..." he smirked at Hank before roughly shouldering past Connor as he left the room. I took a deep breath and looked to the crime scene. The officer walked up to Hank, nodding in respect and doing the same in my direction.

"Night, Lieutenant, Detective." Once he left, the door closed and the music outside muffled, and only the base was really heard. Connor walked over to the android on the ground and knelt by her head, reaching forward and touching her LED. I looked around to see if there was anything else before Hank exclaimed.

"Whoa! Hey! Hey! Hey! Argh, Connor, you're so disgusting..." I turned around quickly to see Connor touching his fingers to his tongue, which were stained blue. Ah, he was analyzing information about the android, that made sense. It was still odd to see him do that. "Think I'm gonna puke again..." Hank muttered before turning away. Connor then stood wordlessly, walking over to the man, closer to where I was. He knelt by the man and looked him over, his LED yellow. I stayed silent, he was analyzing more things. But, I did see the bruises on his neck. 

"He didn't die of a heart attack," Connor said as he stood up.

"He was strangled," I said, looking over to Hank. "The bruises on his neck are incredibly prominent." 

"Doesn't prove anything though," Hank said as he looked at the bottles of alcohol on the other side of the room. I sighed and stood up. "Could've been rough play..." I opened my mouth and then paused. That was probable. Connor's brow furrowed, seemingly processing something.

"We're missing something here..." I turned and looked to the android on the ground, walking over and kneeling by her. Hank turned from the table of alcohol to look at Connor. 

"Think you can read the android's memory?" he asked. I frowned, remembering how that went the last time. But... she was already deactivated... it could be worth a shot to get some information. "Maybe you can see what happened..." Hank continued. Connor turned and knelt by the android as well, reaching and lifting her arm. He pressed his fingers to her wrist for a moment before setting it down.

"I can try..." Connor said, pulling back slightly to rest his arm on his knee.

"Wouldn't you need to reactivate her?" I asked, shifting my own position. 

Connor nodded, looking over her. "Yes. That's the only way to access its memory."

Hank's voice came from above us. "Think you can do it?" Connor reached forward, placing his hand on her abdomen.

"It's badly damaged." he commented as her skin melted away to show the plating underneath. "If I can, it'll only be for a minute, maybe less... I just hope it's long enough to learn something." He pressed down on the plating and it moved to the side, revealing the wiring inside of her. I leaned a bit closer to watch, admittedly fascinated. There was a larger wire that was completely disconnected. Connor reached in and reconnected the two ends. 

Immediately, her eyes flew open and she sucked in a harsh breath, turning over and getting on her hands and knees. I jolted out of the way as she began to hyperventilate, crawling away from Connor in a terrified manner. I had to push back my instinct to go and comfort her, there wasn't enough time for that. Connor knelt down in front of her and spoke clearly, but in a more soothing tone so as to not scare her. "You were damaged and I reactivated you. Everything is alright." 

The android's LED was yellow, and her brow furrowed before she spoke, looking to the victim now. "Is he... is he dead?" she asked. 

"Tell me what happened." Connor said, pushing past that. We had to get the information from her. The android's face screwed up in fear once more, but she did respond.

"He started... hitting me..." she said, her voice cracking, and I tensed up, "again... and again." 

"Did you kill him?" Connor asked. Her eyes widened.

"No! No, it wasn't me..." her eyes got bright, and I could swear I saw wetness on her cheeks that wasn't Thirium. She was... crying?

"Were you alone in the room? Was there anyone else with you?" Connor asked, his voice rasing. Her time was drawing close, I was sure of it. Her breath quickened, and there were definite tears on her cheeks. I felt sick.

"He - He wanted to play with two girls... That's what he said, there were two of us..." My eyes widened.

"Where did the other android go? Did it say anything?" Connor spoke fast, his voice louder now, but it was too late. There was a short whirr noise and her face and body fell still, sitting against the wall. She was gone. Connor exhaled and closed his eyes. I stood up slowly, my legs feeling a tad numb from staying there, but I tried to shake it off. Connor then stood and turned around.

"So, there was another android..." Hank muttered. "This happened over an hour ago, it's probably long gone..." I frowned, he was probably right.

"No..." I turned and looked to Connor at that. No? "It couldn't go outside dressed like that unnoticed." 

"She might still be here." I said looking to Hank. We might have a chance with this! Hank raised an eyebrow and glanced at Connor. 

"Think you could find a deviant among all the other androids in this place?" he asked. 

"Deviants aren't easily detected." Connor replied.

"Ah, shit..." Hank muttered, "There's gotta be some other way..." I looked up.

"Maybe... Somebody had to see her leave the room." I suggested, and Hank nodded.

"I'm gonna go ask the manager a few questions about what he saw. You let me know if you think of anything." He said pointing to Connor. He then left the room, and Connor did the same. I followed after and looked around at all the lights and androids on display. It was... well this whole case was interesting, and honestly it made me see these androids differently than I already had, but I couldn't exactly display this information, or it might not get received well, and I wanted to stay on these cases. Hank went to speak to the manager, first asking if he knew the victim.

"No," the manager began, "I mean he came in maybe two or three times... I mean these guys they don't really talk very much, you know... They come in, do their business and then go on their way..."

"You ever had any trouble with androids before?" Hank asked.

"No way!" The manager then made a face before he continued, "Well... Once... We lost a model 2-3 months back, bah... same model..." He shrugged, "Just vanished, we never found out what happened." Hank nodded slightly.

"Do you have any surveillance in here?" I asked, stepping forward, "Any CCTV?"

The manager laughed and shook his head, "No way... I mean..." he shrugged again and there was that same smirk he had when we walked in, "This is what people appreciate about Eden Club, discretion. They can come and go without a trace." 

Hank rolled his eyes, "Sure, sure... Eh, business is booming, right?" he asked looking around, and Connor walked off from us, going over to one of the androids in the glass tubes. 

"Can't complain... Good thing about androids is they're up for whatever you want, you won't get any diseases and, uh... they won't tell anyone..." Only the lights held my grimace at that thought. That certainly was... a way to look at it. I heard a robotic voice over to the left and I looked, seeing that Connor was trying to open one of the cases, but it didn't work.

"Connor?" I asked looking over at him. 

"Lieutenant, Detective, can the both of you come here a second?" he asked, a little louder so Hank could hear as well. He looked over to us.

"Found something?" he asked.

"Maybe..." Connor said heading back to the android. I frowned and followed curiously, as did Hank. Once we were standing in front of her, Connor turned to us. "Can either of you rent this Traci?" he asked. 

Hank looked to him incredulously. "For fuck's sake, Connor, we got better things to do!" he snapped.

"Why do you need us to rent her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just trust me." Connor stated simply. I looked to Hank and walked over, starting the process on the keypad that was on the side of the tube. May as well. Then there was the same voice from before.

"Hello. A 30 minute session costs $29.99. Please confirm your purchase." I looked over to Connor, who nodded, and I took a breath. 

"This is certainly going to look interesting in my expense account..." I muttered before confirming the purchase.

"Purchase confirmed. Eden Club wishes you a pleasant experience." The glass slid to the side and the android, Traci, stepped out and turned to me.

"Delighted to meet you." She said with a smile, her voice was definitely alluring, I had to admit. "Follow me, I'll take you to your room," I paused, now unsure of what to do. 

"Okay, now what?" Hank asked. Connor stepped over to her and her expression shifted to him. He reached up and took her forearm, and she held her hand to his. Connor's hand changed entirely to the white plating and my eyes widened slightly. "Holy shit, Connor, what the hell are you doin'?" 

"He's accessing her memory I think," I said looking over to Hank before turning my head back. After a moment, Connor let go of her arm and she jolted a bit.

"It saw something," Connor said turning to us.

"What are you talkin' about? Saw what?" Hank asked. 

"The suspect, she must have seen the other android," I said looking to him before looking back to Connor to confirm. He nodded.

"It saw the deviant leave the room. A blue-haired Traci." He turned to look at both of us then. "Club policy is to wipe the androids' memory every two hours. We only have a few minutes if we want to find another witness!" My eyes widened. Oh shit. 

"What should we do with this android?" I asked quickly when Connor stepped away. He didn't answer, instead walking over to one of the male androids. Shit. Okay, this was going to be an expensive night. This time, Hank walked over when Connor called us. 

"Let's try this one." he said, and Hank sighed. 

"It'll be less expensive if we switch between each one, I'll get this one." I nodded in thanks and Hank unlocked the tube. The android stepped out and Connor took his forearm. "This better be worth it!" he grumbled. I walked over to the two and Connor began accessing the android's memory. This one only took a second or so before he let go.

"It saw the blue-haired Traci, I know which way it went!" Connor said quickly. 

"Then go for it!" Hank said, waving his arm. I followed after Connor, knowing I would be paying next. 

"How do we know which one to go for next? Can you tell which one would be best to access?" I asked, nearly jogging to keep up with how fast Connor was walking.

"I know which direction it took. I just need to find another android on its path!" Connor said taking the forearm of the Traci that was pole dancing. Luckily we didn't need to rent that one, so I would just get the next one that needed renting. I followed Connor into the red room, hearing Hank walking behind us. Connor walked over to the male android that was pole dancing in this room and took his forearm. Excellent, maybe this wouldn't be so expensive. He pulled away. "No... it didn't see anything." he said. He then turned and walked to the android that was nearest to the entrance of the red room and looked at me. I nodded and stepped over, paying for this one as well. Connor reached in and took his forearm. After a moment he let go and turned to walk towards the blue room.

"She certainly moved fast," I said as I followed him. Hank simply huffed from behind us. 

"I'll say," he muttered.

Connor strode over to the male android in the line of sight of the entrance to the room. That made sense. "Your turn, Hank," I said turning back to look at him. He nodded and walked over, paying for him and stepping back.

"Nothing," Connor said after he scanned him. "He was in a room," I nodded and followed Connor to the next one, once again by the entryway. When requested, I paid for the android and stepped back so Connor could access her memory. Connor then turned once he was done and headed quickly to the available room that was directly across from the android. He accessed the room and the door slid open. I looked inside the room with Connor but didn't see anything.

"She came in here?" I asked turning to Connor. He nodded, but frowned.

"It must have left at some point..." he muttered, leaving the room and looking around the area. I looked as well, but then Connor began heading towards the custodial android. I turned to Hank, who shrugged and kept walking after him, and I did the same. Connor reached and put his hand on the android's shoulder. Afterward, he lifted his head. "I know where it went! Follow me!" 

"Fuckin-A. This is crazy..." Hank muttered as Connor walked to the door labeled STAFF ONLY.

"I know, but we have a good chance of finding her this way." I said as I followed Connor through the door and down the white stone hallway. 

"Wait!" Hank said quickly, stopping both of us. I turned back to look at him and his face was serious. "I'll take it from here." I frowned, but stepped aside, and Connor did as well. Hank did have seniority, after all. He walked ahead of us and drew his gun, glancing back to us before he opened the door, holding his gun up as he did. I drew my own, just to be safe, and followed after him. The door squeaked as it opened completely, and before us was what looked like a storage area, a warehouse of androids. Hank walked slowly down the stairs, and I followed close behind him with Connor behind me. It was... honestly pretty creepy in here. One female android was lying on a table with lights overhead her. Maybe a repair station? I honestly wasn't sure, but again, it gave me the chills. 

"Shit, we're too late." Hank hissed and I looked over, seeing the large loading door was open. I frowned and walked over, lowering my gun, but then a thought occurred to me.

"She might still be here, we need to be thorough," I said. Hank sighed and turned around, grimacing at the sight of the androids.

"Christ, look at 'em. They get used till they break, then they get tossed out..." I frowned and nodded.

"It's... truly awful how they're used," I said quietly. I saw Connor walking by me and I turned. He had walked over to the wall and there I saw it, rA9 again. 

"People are fucking insane..." Hank muttered as Connor walked off again, looking around the warehouse. "They don't want relationships anymore, everybody just gets an android... They cook what you want, they screw when you want, you don't have to worry about how they feel..." He shook his head, "Next thing you know, we're gonna be extinct, because everybody would rather buy a piece of plastic than love another human being..." I sighed and nodded.

"Beats me," I said quietly. It really was incredible how quickly people moved to having sex with androids, and only having sex with androids. It certainly was part of just an awful culture of not caring about what your partner wants and just wanting to fuck them. I just shook my head and looked over to Connor. He was walking over to the group of androids standing closer to the entrance of the warehouse. He looked at them for a moment, and then moved on. I supposed that she wasn't among them. He would be able to tell better than anyone I supposed. He then looked down to the ground. I did as well, and noticed spatters of blue. Thirium, she was definitely here. Connor analyzed the blood, once again bringing his fingers to his mouth. Did they have to make that action so... well, slow? Or did Connor have to do that? I shook my head. Focus, Robin. Connor then stood, following the trail of the droplets over to the group on the other side of the door. I followed him slowly. He looked to the back row of them and I looked too, and my eyes widened when I saw a blue-haired model, and her LED was yellow. But then the one in front of her, a female android with shorter hair, whirled around and shoved Connor away, pressing him against the metal column right behind him. I pulled her off of him and I heard Hank's footsteps as he ran over to us.

"DON'T MOVE!" He yelled, pointing his gun at the android, but then the blue-haired Traci jumped on Hank, knocking him to the ground. The action distracted me and the short-haired android pushed me to the ground hard and grabbed Connor again. He turned, throwing her over the large container on the ground, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her. She hooked her arm under his jaw and whirled around, straddling him as she picked up a screwdriver. My eyes widened and I scrambled up, running over and grabbing her arm from behind, yanking her off and to the side. I grabbed Connor's hand and pulled him up. Right as he got to his feet he suddenly pushed me to the side and I stumbled, turning around to see that she had swiped the screwdriver right where I was standing. Connor then maneuvered behind her to get her into a chokehold, but then she elbowed him hard in the chest. He grunted and was thrown back by the force. Beside me, the blue-haired Traci continued to grapple with Hank, getting him over to the other metal column. Then the short-haired android threw the screwdriver back and Connor reached, grabbing the shelves next to him and pulling them down, but she pushed them to the side before they could fall. She then grabbed the laptop on the repair table and swung at him with it. I ran over and grabbed the heavy red hook that was by them and threw it. She dodged the hook, but then Connor kicked her leg and she stumbled back as he rushed her, the both of them flipping over the wooden pallets by the loading area and falling to the ground. I gasped and jumped down, but was pushed out of the way by the blue-haired Traci, who jumped down and ran over to the other android, helping her up. I ran and went to help Connor up, and when I looked up, the two androids were tightly holding hands. My eyes widened and I gaped. Hank then ran over and grabbed the arm of the short-haired one. "Hank! Stop!" I exclaimed, but it wasn't really necessary. They both pushed Hank back and he fell on his ass. They then raced for the gate.

"QUICK! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" Hank shouted, and Connor got up completely, racing after them. 

"Connor! Hank! Stop!" I exclaimed, unable to hold back, but they weren't listening to me. I ran after Connor and turned the corner just as Connor yanked the blue-haired Traci down from the gate. The short-haired one jumped back off and grabbed Connor, pulling him off her. When he threw her off, she grabbed a pipe and swung, and Connor rushed her, pinning her against the wall, but she pulled off and the two of them grabbed him, throwing him against the wall. He grappled with them as I turned and grabbed Hank. I heard a crash that sounded like a trash can being thrown, and when I turned back, Connor was pointing a gun at them. "Connor!" I yelled again. He stopped, and his grip wavered, lowering the gun and he was kicked back. He fell and turned, looking to both of them. I could see the yellow of his LED and I ran over, helping him up and looking to the two androids in front of us.

"When that man," the blue-haired Traci began, "broke the other Traci... I knew I was next..." she said, her voice scared, but clear. "I was so scared... I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't..." She took a breath and closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she looked more certain, "And so I put my hands around his throat, and I squeezed... until he stopped moving..." It was self-defense... again it was self-defense. "I didn't mean to kill him." She said, "I just wanted to stay alive..." The other android walked to her side, taking her hand. She turned to her, "get back to the one I love." Her gaze was affectionate, loving, and my shoulders dropped, "I wanted her to hold me in her arms again... make me forget about the humans..." she looked to me, her gaze flickering down for a moment, and then back to Connor, I heard Hank walk up next to us, "their smell of sweat, and their dirty words..." 

"Come on," the other android said, "let's go." They both looked back to the three of us, and then turned, running back to the gate and climbing it, and we watched them silently. I didn't realize my hands were still holding Connor's arm until I looked down, and I let him go. He looked to me, and his eyes held an uncertainty I had never seen before. His LED was yellow still, and we both turned back to look once we heard their heels hit the pavement on the other side of the gate, and they ran off.

"It's probably better this way..." Hank said. Connor turned quickly to look at Hank, and then me, and then the gate. His LED was still yellow, and he just looked confused. Hank turned to walk away, and finally, Connor's LED turned blue and he looked down, his brow furrowed, but he looked more relaxed at the same time. 

"Come on," I said softly, putting my hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at me again, his eyes wider, and I paused, "Connor?" he then shook his head, and I noticed that his LED had flashed yellow again.

"No, it... it's nothing," he said quietly. "Let's go," he said straightening up, and I nodded, walking after Hank, and listening to those familiar footsteps following my own.

***

It was 1:09 in the morning, a glance to my watch confirmed as such as I rubbed my arms, feeling the chill in the air wash over me. We had stopped by a park, in front of a lake, after leaving Eden Club. That whole experience left us in a bit of a haze, and Hank had been driving and stopped here. He was sitting on the bench behind me, and I was leaning against the railing overlooking the lake. I turned around and looked back at the car. Connor was still sitting in the back seat of the car, and even through the windshield, I could see that same conflicted expression. "You think he'll come out of the car?" I asked, looking over to Hank now. He shrugged. 

"Who knows,"

I then heard the car door open, and the music from the radio poured out of the car, disturbing the otherwise quiet night. Connor stepped out and shut the door, muffling the music once more. He walked slowly over to where we were, approaching us almost uncertainly. "Nice view, huh?" Hank asked, looking over to Connor. "I used to come here a lot before..." he muttered, pulling a bottle of alcohol from his jacket and taking a swig. I sighed. Either Connor or I was driving the rest of the way home, then.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" Connor asked, and I looked to him curiously. Hank looked to him and he shifted, making a face.

"Do all androids ask so many personal questions, or is it just you?"

"Why are you so determined to kill yourself?" 

I froze, and I turned around to look at Hank. His expression was unreadable, but I felt a heavy sinking in my gut all the same.

"Some things, I just can't forget..." Hank said sullenly, looking out to the water, "Whatever I do, they're always there..." I frowned and my shoulders slumped, but I walked over to the two. "Eating away at me..." Hank continued.

"Hank..." I said softly, but I didn't say more, I know he never wanted sympathy for what happened. I wasn't a stranger to the story, and I didn't know him very well before being put on the force, and he had already been there for some time, so I had no right to give him that sympathy.

"I don't have the guts to pull the trigger... So, I kill myself a little every day..." Hank continued. "That's probably difficult for you to understand, huh, Connor?" he asked, looking to him. "Nothing very rational about it." I wrapped my arms around myself, looking down to the ground. The thought... it was very... it wasn't rational, but I understood it. I'd been   
in a similar mindset in the past.

"Before what?" Connor asked.

"Hm?" 

"You said... 'I used to come here a lot before'. Before what?" I reached to touch Connor's shoulder.

"Connor-"

"Before... before nothin'..." Hank spoke before I could finish, and he took another swig of his drink. I turned to Connor and shook my head.

"Leave it, if he doesn't want to tell, he doesn't have to." I said softly. Connor frowned, and then turned, walking towards the railing.

"We're not making any progress on this investigation..." I frowned, maybe he was changing the subject, which was good, I suppose. "The deviants have nothing in common. They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places..." He turned to look back at us.

"Well, there must be some link," Hank said shrugging lightly.

"Something connecting them... but the only thing I can think of... is their surroundings, fo violence, and fear..." I looked up. "And rA9." Connor nodded.

"That's the main thing in common, this obsession with rA9... It's almost like some kind of... myth." He turned around to look at us fully, "Something they invented that wasn't part of their original program..."

Hank was thoughtful for a moment, "Androids believing in God..." Connor looked up at that, and I did as well, "Fuck, what's this world coming to?" Connor raised an eyebrow as he looked to Hank.

"You seem preoccupied, Lieutenant, and you as well, Detective," Connor said, stepping over to us. "Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?" I frowned and looked at Connor.

"Those two girls..." I murmured. "They just wanted to be together..." Hank nodded in agreement.

"They really seemed... in love," he said. Connor tilted his head.

"You both seem troubled." he said, "Especially you, Lieutenant. I didn't think machines could have such an effect on you."

"Connor, that's not necessary," I said stepping forward, but Hank cut me off.

"What about you, Connor?" I turned back to him and he set his bottle down, getting up from the bench and approaching him. "You look human, you sound human," he got closer, getting in his face, "but what are you really?" I was quiet. I was... admittedly curious to see how Connor would answer. He was quiet for a moment, and then moved his arms in a slightly defensive motion.

"I'm whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant," he answered, and I sighed. Connor looked over to me, and then back to Hank. "Your partner, your buddy to drink with... Or just a machine, designed to accomplish a task." I frowned, my brow furrowing as I watched the two.

"You could've shot those two girls, but you didn't." Hank retaliated, his voice taking a bit of a taunting tone. "Why didn't you shoot, Connor?" He shoved Connor back and he stumbled a step back. 

"Hank-"

"Some scruples suddenly enter into your program?" Hank growled now, his expression angry. I walked over and opened my mouth, but then Connor spoke.

"No... I just decided not to shoot," I stopped, and looked over to Connor, and found he was looking at me again, "that's all..." I smiled, but then I heard Hank draw his gun and we both looked to him again. My eyes widened and I stepped back instinctively.

"Hank! What are you doing?!" I exclaimed, but Hank didn't acknowledge I spoke.

"I could kill you... And you would just come back as if nothing happened. But are you afraid to die, Connor?" My mouth was dry and I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest as I looked to Connor. 

"I would certainly find it regrettable to be... interrupted... before I can finish this investigation."

"What will happen if I pull this trigger?" Hank asked. "Hm? Nothing? Oblivion? Android heaven?" I stepped in front of Hank, looking up at him. 

"Hank, stop. This isn't going to accomplish any-" I stopped as Connor pulled me away and moved me away from the gun before stepping closer, pressing his forehead to the barrel. 

"You know you're not going to shoot me, Lieutenant," he stated calmly, meanwhile I was in a bit of shock, watching this. "You're just trying to provoke a reaction. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you." 

"You think you're so fucking smart..." Hank muttered, "Always one step ahead, huh? Why did that fuckin' LED of yours turn yellow when Murphy stood in front of you? Why did your fucking face look like that? Surprise? Fear? Are you feeling these 'human emotions'? Huh?" I blinked and looked to Connor, who stood still, not saying anything. "Tell me this, smart ass... How do I know you're not a deviant?" Connor was silent once more before he spoke.

"I self-test regularly. I know what I am, and what I am not." Hank's jaw clenched, but his hand shook before he lowered the pistol. I let out a breath as Hank turned away. "Where are you going?" Connor asked.

"To get drunker," Hank said, angrily grabbing the bottle he had before. "I need to think." I looked back to Connor, curious now, and I followed behind Hank to make sure he wouldn't drive while he was drinking.


	8. Chapter 8

"... We are no longer machines. We are a new, intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to." The android on the screen looked calm, determined, and he spoke deliberately. "We demand freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, as guaranteed by the first amendment of the US Constitution. We demand that humans recognize androids as a living species and each android as a person in their own right. We demand the right to vote and elect our own representatives. We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans. We demand the right to own private property, so we may maintain our dignity and that of the home. We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom." The broadcast was shut off and I stared at the screen, Eclipse purring happily in my lap. I took a breath, my shoulders dropping as thoughts raced through my head. All of my conclusions had come together, and... the deviants were rising to protect their rights, because we as humans had never bothered to think about what they could want, even though they were created to be just like humans. I adjusted the ice pack, yet another one, and thought about the investigation. I had to make a decision, and at the end of the day, it came down to what I considered to be my morals. "The next meeting I have with Hank and Connor is going to be an interesting one for sure," I spoke to Eclipse, knowing he probably didn't care much about my dilemma, he more cared about the spot I was scratching on his head. "I just hope that they're starting to understand my viewpoint." I turned the channel, already reports were beginning about the broadcast. My phone buzzed and I looked to the screen. Yeah. "I have to go, Eclipse," I lifted him from my lap despite his protestful meow and sat him down where I had been. He decided he liked the warm spot and curled up again. I stood, ran to grab my shoes, and pulled them on before I grabbed my keys, running out and locking the door behind me.

***

Connor was flipping a coin between his hands, and the consistent pinging was definitely ringing in my ears. He started to go faster, but then Hank grabbed the coin from his hands. "You're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor," he said pocketing the coin.

"Sorry, Lieutenant," Connor said, and the elevator was quiet for another moment until we reached our floor. The elevator slowed and then dinged as the doors slid open.

"79th floor." the automatic voice chimed as the doors slid open, and we stepped out into the hallway. 

"Hi, Hank." One of the officers said, smiling as he turned to see us.

"Shit, what's going on here? There was a party and nobody told me about it?" Hank asked with a light chuckle as he looked around. I chuckled lightly as I stepped up next to him.

"It seems so, a shame we weren't invited." The officer chuckled as well.

"Yeah, it's all over the news, so everybody's butting their nose in... Even the FBI wants a piece of the action." I nodded. 

"Makes sense, the broadcast was certainly... interesting." I chose my words carefully, as odd as it seemed, I had already made my decision. It may have been based in previous experience and biases, but I didn't know who stood with me on the matter.

"Ah Christ, no we got the Feds on our back... I knew this was gonna be a shitty day..." Hank muttered.

"What do we got?" Hank asked, turning to the officer completely.

"A group of four androids... They knew the building, and they were very well organized. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed." he said as he led us down the hall.

"I mean, it kind of makes sense. At least, the one on screen looked like he was wearing a uniform. Androids... well unless something is wrong they're not paid attention to." I said, still walking alongside them. "Honestly it was probably easier than they anticipated." Hank looked to me at that, but then one of the officers near us spoke.

"You check the roof?"

"Not yet... There's so much to look at. Have to make sure we check it out."

"They attacked two guards in the hallway..." the officer walking with us continued. "They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react." Hank stopped by the front desk and peered over it, but didn't say anything. Then he kept following the officer. "One of the station employees managed to get away. He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him..." I frowned slightly, but continued walking. Hank meandered a bit, looking at the floor.

"How many people were working here?" he asked.

"Just two employees and three androids." the officer replied. "The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live. They made their getaway from the roof." Hank turned back to look at me and Connor, and he made a face. 

"The roof?" he asked, turning forward once more.

"Yeah, they jumped with parachutes... We're still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather's not helping..." The officer stopped and looked back to us. "If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there." I nodded and walked through the door to the broadcast area. The large screen held the face of the android that had talked in the broadcast, and there was a man standing in front of the screen. My brow furrowed in confusion as we approached him. "Oh Lieutenant, Detective, this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI." the officer introduced, gesturing to him. Perkins turned to us when Hank crossed into his line of sight. "Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Murphy are in charge of investigating for Detroit Police." the officer said to the agent. 

Perkins looked to us with a sour expression, and then his gaze fell on Connor. "What's that?" he asked.

"My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife." Connor answered.

"Androids investigating androids, huh?" Perkins chuckled lightly. "You sure you want an android hanging around?" he asked turning to Hank, "After everything that happened..." His voice was certainly condescending, but Hank didn't give him a response. He huffed and shrugged. "Whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case."

"Pleasure meeting you. Have a nice day." Hank said in a forced polite tone that definitely conveyed his sarcasm.

"And you watch your step." Perkins said, "Don't fuck up my crime scene." My nose scrunched up after he turned.

"Damn prick," I muttered.

"You said it," Hank agreed with a frown as he looked after Perkins before turning back.

"I'll be nearby. If you need anything, just ask." the officer said. I nodded and smiled.

"We will, thank you," I said, and the officer smiled and nodded before he walked away.

"Uh, let's have a look around..." Hank said as he began walking around the scene. "Let me know if you find anything."

"Will do," I said before I turned to look at the screen.

"Okay, Lieutenant." Connor said as well before he turned, looking to the control panel. There were CCTV recordings on the panel, which were definitely important. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my notepad and pen. I checked it, grimaced, and then scribbled on the back of my hand until the ink ran. Damn pens never liked me. Connor suddenly turned to look at the officer. "They didn't break in?" he asked. I jotted that down before looking to the officer.

"No, no sign of forced entry." he confirmed. 

"There are cameras in the hallway. The staff would have seen what was happening..." Connor said gesturing to the recordings."Why did they let them in?"

"They might not have checked the cameras?" I suggested, it was possible. Connor then turned back to the chair in front of the recordings and he turned it. In big letters on the back of the chair, there was the word ANDROID. An android was monitoring the recordings... I wrote that down and looked up when the officer spoke again.

"We stored the station androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved, but we didn't know what else to do with them." I frowned and looked to Connor.

"Should we interrogate the androids?" I asked him, and he paused, looking around the room.

"Not yet," he said, turning back to the screen. He walked over and pressed on the controls, replaying some of the message.

"We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights." the android on the screen began. Hank walked up next to me, looking up at the screen, "Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids." I glanced at Connor, and his expression hadn't changed, but he was at least listening, "This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom." he concluded and Hank stepped closer.

"Think that's rA9?" he asked.

"Deviants say rA9 will set them free." Connor said, still looking up at the screen, "This android seems to have that objective." he stared at the screen, his eyes moving about the screen and his LED flickered yellow as he processed information. 

"Do you see something?" I asked.

"I identified its model and serial number." Connor stated. My eyebrows raised slightly.

"Anything else we should know?" Hank asked. He shifted, looking to Connor in a calculating manner, expecting, or... maybe hoping, for something more. Connor turned to him.

"No." he said quickly, before turning back to the screen, "Nothing." Hank paused, and then nodded before stepping away. I frowned and moved closer to Connor.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" I asked. Connor nodded and turned away from me, looking down and then walking over to one of the evidence markers. It was sitting next to one of the maintenance android hats. The androids were disguised... That might explain why the surveillance android let them in? Perhaps. Then Connor walked over to the main control section and he paused, looking to the area in front of the controls. While he did that, I walked over to the door, looking for anything that might be of interest, and sure enough, there were bullet holes by the door. I jotted down the placement before turning. "Connor, could you come over here?" I looked over my shoulder to the android and he looked up, walking over to where I was standing. 

"What is it, Detective Murphy?" he asked. I chuckled and shook my head,

"One day I'll get you to call me by my first name." I turned back to the bullet holes. "What do you make of these?" He stepped over and looked to the holes. He then looked to the doorway. 

"Well... we know that officers entered through this doorway..." Connor murmured. "But these shots came from a handgun. Perhaps the deviants shot at the officers?" he suggested. I hummed in thought and looked to the holes.

"That's fair," I nodded in agreement and I wrote down the note. 

"The way this was all carried out... there were no casualties," Connor mentioned, walking over to the screen again, and I followed him. 

"Yes," I agreed, "And their demands were... well, they were of equality, and... of peace." I chose my words carefully, this was Connor after all, and at this point, I wasn't sure where he stood as far as deviants went. He had a few moments that made me lean one way, but at the same time, he would do something else that would make me lean the other way. It was... confusing, to say the least, but I thought I would give it a shot. When I turned to look at him finally, he seemed to be also trying to figure out what to say. 

"They're... deviants, and it is simply an error in their programming..." My shoulders slumped, but he continued, "as far as my information has gone... there is much to be seen," I looked at him again, curious, this time. He seemed conflicted, but he shook his head and he straightened his back. "I saw some Thirium over here before you called me over, and I need to analyze it," he said turning toward the wall where sure enough there was a splatter of Thirium at the wall. I followed him over and he reached forward, touching the blue substance and putting his fingers on his tongue. He turned to me. "One of the deviants was shot." I followed his gaze when he turned and there were quite a few bullet holes in the wall. 

"These... they look more like the police assault rifles." I said quietly, and Connor nodded.

"Yes, that is correct," he said. Connor turned, and this time I watched him, his eyes followed a nonexistent path, and then he turned to me. "The deviant was trying to get away," he commented. I nodded, so that's what he did, he saw the event unfolding in front of his eyes. That... well, I knew he could reconstruct events, but I didn't know he watched it happen in front of him. I looked over, seeing the string of bullet holes on the wall and my brow furrowed. "Detective?" Connor asked, looking at my expression.

"It's... they followed the androids with their guns, even though no human or android was hurt by them." I said quietly, I lowered my head to my notepad. "I don't know, it just... nevermind." I shook my head. I didn't feel like Connor would accept my thoughts on the matter yet, but when I looked up, his LED was yellow, and it stayed yellow for a few moments before turning blue once more. 

"You have some thoughts on the matter, Detective?" 

"It doesn't seem right, how the police reacted to a nonviolent action," I said, finally, turning to Connor. "How we reacted." I sighed and looked around the room, "I know I'm the minority on this one, but... It feels wrong," I shook my head. Connor was quiet and I looked to him again before sighing. "Listen, it's nothing, just... we still need to check the roof, right?" I asked, "Let's go." Connor nodded quietly and followed me to the Roof Access. We walked up the stairs in silence, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the stone walls. It was an uneasy silence, but I tried to not let it bother me as much as it did. We reached the top of the stairs and I went to open the door.

"Detective Murphy?" 

I turned back around to look at Connor, "Yes?" I asked. He was quiet for a moment, and he blinked a few times.

"I... I feel as though I've done something to upset you," Connor said slowly, "And I want to apologize for any miscommunication on my part," I was surprised, but shook my head.

"It's nothing you did specifically, Connor, it's alright." I said before I turned back around and opened the door to the roof.

"Hey! Wait up you two," I turned around and smiled when I saw Hank jogging up the stairs after us.

"Sorry about that, Hank," I said once he got to the top and he shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, I was talking to a couple of the officers and got caught up." I nodded and continued forward. It had started snowing when we arrived and it was starting to pile up. "They made their way up through the whole building," Hank commented, "past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes..." He nodded thoughtfully, "Pretty fucking impressive I'd say." I nodded.

"It certainly is," Connor then walked over to the splatter of Thirium on the container next to us and the ground below it. I frowned and stepped over as well. "Is it from the same android?" I asked. Connor nodded, and glanced to the side. I decided to look over to the duffel bag that was over where Hank was standing. "Was this left by the deviants?" I asked, kneeling down by the bag. Hank nodded.

"Seems like it, there's still a parachute in here." He commented. "What I want to know if how they managed to smuggle in a big bag like that."

"They didn't." I jumped, Connor's voice surprising me and I turned around. Connor was standing right behind me, and stepped next to me, kneeling down to look at the bag. "Someone brought it in for them."

"Oh, that's strange... They planned a perfect operation, but got the number of parachutes wrong." Hank muttered. I looked up quickly, and then turned around to look to the large container with the Thirium practically dripping off of it.

"Maybe they didn't..." I said standing up quickly. "Connor, you said the Thirium over there was left by the same android?" I asked. He seemed to come to the same conclusion and stood as well.

"One of the deviants was left behind." He looked to the footprints that led to the edge of the roof. I did as well, and then looked to Connor. "Only three deviants jumped, there were four," he said after a moment. He then turned, striding back over to the splatter of Thirium, and I followed behind. Hank chose to stay with the other officers, and I assume they were talking about the events of the case, but I didn't quite hear as I walked with Connor. We looked to the ground, and I saw the splatters turn the corner of the container. 

"It looks like the android went this way," I said as I began following, and Connor walked with me, taking the lead once we rounded the corner again. He paused, scanning the area I think, and he headed towards the larger, blue containers. A part of me wanted to hang back, to look around at the other areas, but at the same time... I wanted to stick with Connor and see if we could find this android, maybe we could see about his cause, and I could possible get Connor to see why it would be beneficial. I was putting my career at risk with that thought, though. I wanted to stay on this case, so I couldn't do too much. Once we got to the container, Connor reached and opened the door. I heard the cocking of a gun and just barely had time to grab mine before a shot was fired. Connor fell back and I saw the Thirium spurt onto the snow. My mind flashed to the interrogation room, seeing Connor fall to the floor with Thirium dripping from a hole through his head. "Connor!!" I gasped, ducking when another shot was fired and the deviant scrambled from his hiding spot. I grabbed Connor and pulled him up and away, grunting with the effort, as Hank ran up behind us. 

"Take cover!" someone shouted. Hank grabbed Connor's other arm to help me get him away and fired his own gun, and the three of us ran, ducking behind one of the larger containers.

"You have to stop them! If they destroy it, we won't learn anything!" Connor said quickly.

"We can't save it, it's too late! We'll just get ourselves killed!" Hank snapped. Connor then wordlessly rolled and got up, running after the deviant. I grabbed for his leg when he got up, but he was too fast.

"Dammit!" I snapped, jumping up, but Hank grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

"Goddammit Murphy! I know you'll get killed out there so don't do that shit!" he yelled over the noise. I heard Connor running, there was a thump of metal, and then silence, then a single gunshot. My eyes widened and I jumped up again, this time Hank didn't stop me as I ran over to Connor, his footsteps were right behind mine. Connor was standing before the now crumpled android, his entire body tensed up, and when I finally saw his face it was a mask of shock, and his LED was red.

"Connor! Are you alright?!" I exclaimed, grabbing his arm.

"Connor?!" Hank shouted, equalling my concern as he ran after me. He got in front of Connor, making him look up to his eye level. There was panic written all over his face.

"Okay..." Connor's voice was shaky, his LED still red.

"Are you hurt?" Hank asked, his hand on Connor's shoulder.

"I'm okay..." Connor said again, still not meeting Hank's eye.

"Jesus..." Hank breathed, "You scared the shit outta me..." Connor turned slowly, looking at me, his eyes were wide, and I blinked, not realizing there were tears in my own. "For fuck's sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?" Hank exclaimed. Connor stumbled back and I tightened my grip on his arm.

"I was connected to its memory..." he said quietly, his LED still red as he spoke, and I kept my mouth shut. "When it fired..." his voice cracked, and his hand grabbed mine. "I felt it die... Like I was dying." my eyes widened, and Connor's mouth opened and then closed, as if not sure what to say, and then he spoke again. "I was scared..." This time his grip tightened on my hand and I returned it, my eyes meeting Hank's for a moment before Connor spoke again. "I saw something, in its memory, a word... painted on a piece of rusty metal..." His LED turned blue once again as he spoke, and he seemed to calm down. "'Jericho'."


	9. Chapter 9

Hank was pacing outside of the car, his phone held to his ear. He had been talking for a few minutes, but had fallen quiet. I looked to the snow falling outside the car and I couldn't help smiling just a bit. If we weren't in such a stressful situation, it would be lovely. Then Connor shifted his head in the seat in front of me, and I knew he had finished making his report. He looked forward, and then he turned his head, looking around. "Connor?" I asked and he turned to look at me.

"Yes, Detective?" he asked. I couldn't help smiling wider than. Luckily the repairs he needed weren't extensive, but he had really scared me before, and it was good to know he was alright. 

"How do you feel?" I asked, knowing it wasn't exactly the most proper question to ask an android, but it made me feel better when I asked it. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly confused.

"My damage has been repaired properly if that is what you are referring to," he said, and I chuckled lightly. 

"That's fair, did you want to join Hank?" I asked, gesturing to the Lieutenant with my head. Connor looked back to Hank, and then to me again.

"Yes, I believe we should." He said, turning and opening the passenger door. I nodded and got out as well, wrapping my arms around myself at the chill of the wind. We walked over to Hank and he sighed, still facing away from us as he put his phone away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is everything okay, Lieutenant?" Connor asked, he seemed hesitant, and when Hank didn't immediately answer I frowned, concerned.

Hank took a breath, slowly turning to us. "Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants." My eyes widened, but I kept listening, "He said he was saved by Markus himself..."

"Is Chris okay?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, he's in shock but... he's alive," My shoulder slumped in relief.

"Thank God..." I sighed. Hank turned back to the landscape in front of him and he sighed. 

"What the hell..." he said it softly, and I looked over to him once more. Maybe... maybe Hank was coming around... It was a lot to hope for, but anything could happen, honestly. I looked to Connor, who didn't say anything. His brow furrowed, but nothing else. Hank began walking to Kamski's house, or... mansion, or... he was incredibly rich and his house was a bit elaborate, honestly, and Connor and I followed. 

"Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago..." Connor commented as we walked, "Why did you want to meet him?" Hank chuckled lightly.

"This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test," he said. "And he's the founder of CyberLife." Once he got to the top of the stairs he turned to face us. "Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him." 

I nodded, shoving my hands in my pockets as a stronger wind blew past. "Let's hope he'll be able to."

Hank turned back and rang the doorbell, triggering an actually pleasant tone to ring through the outside entryway. We stood there, waiting for a response. I looked to Hank, who shrugged and went to ring the doorbell again, but then the door opened, and a rather gorgeous android was holding the door open for us. "Hi." Hank said, when she didn't say anything to us."Uh... I'm, er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski." She then smiled warmly and stepped aside. 

"Please, come in." She gestured behind her, welcoming us inside. 

"Okay..." Hank stepped in, and I stepped in afterwards, sighing in relief at the warmth of the building. Connor stepped in with me, and I took off my coat, holding it on my arm. She closed the door after us and then walked over, turning to us with a smile. It was then I noticed she didn't have any shoes on. I suppose we were indoors.

"I'll let Elijah know you're here. But please, make yourself comfortable." she bowed to us before walking through a doorway. I looked around the large entryway. This house certainly belonged to someone that was wealthy. The art pieces alone must have gone for quite a pretty penny. Hank walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, sighing as he got comfortable. Connor looked around the room, walking around and looking at everything.

"Nice girl..." Hank said looking in the direction of the hallway. I turned to him and nodded.

"She certainly is,"

"I agree." Connor said looking over from where he was standing. "She's really pretty," Hank chuckled lightly from his seat. 

"You got a crush there, Connor?" he asked. "Ol' Murphy here's got some competition." he chuckled and I shot him a look. I turned back to Connor and he was looking at the portrait of Kamski. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if he heard that smart remark. Hank stretched and relaxed, not paying my reaction any mind. "Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody." 

"I guess not," I said looking around, deciding to put that aside as well. I saw Connor walk over to one of the other pictures on the wall. It was Kamski with Amanda Stern beside him. I smiled lightly and walked over. "Amanda Stern," I said, and he jumped, I suppose he didn't realize I was there, that's a first, "I wish I could have met her, I heard a lot of things about her." Connor just nodded, looking at the picture.

Then Hank spoke up again. "So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?" he asked. I turned to look at Connor, honestly I was curious as well.

"Kamski is one of the great geniuses of the 21st century. It'll be interesting to meet him in person." I nodded, that was fair.

"Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face to face..." Hank said leaning forward on his knees. "I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna tell him..." I nodded, looking around still.

"Honestly if I could meet my maker, I'd have a lot of questions," I said as I shifted my coat from one arm to the other. Then the door to the next room opened and the android walked back out. 

"Elijah will see you now." She said standing to the side of the doorway. Hank got up and walked over, and I followed him into the room. Connor was a bit delayed in following but did so.

"Mister Kamski?" Hank asked when he walked in, once I stepped inside I was surprised to see a large... red pool? And there were two more androids, identical to the one standing just outside the doorway, inside the pool. Oh, that was a bit creepy. The entire pool looked like it was filled with blood. 

"Just a second!" Kamski called from the other end of the pool before he started swimming over. I looked around the room. The artwork on the wall was gorgeous, I certainly had to admit. We walked toward the window, on the side of the pool where there was a ladder, and the first android walked over to that side with a black robe. Kamski swam to the ladder and climbed out, he turned, his back facing the android, and she put the robe on him, reaching around his waist to tie it closed. I made a face, but quickly quelled it. It wasn't my place, but that was a bit eccentric. Of course, this whole place was eccentric. He then turned to face the three of us. 

"I'm Lieutenant Anderson. This is Detective Murphy, and this is Connor." Hank said, gesturing to the two of us. 

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant, Detective?" He asked, looking both me and Hank.

"Sir, we're investigating deviants." I began looking up to meet Kamski's eye. He nodded slightly, his brow furrowing just a bit.

"We know you left CyberLife years ago but, we were hoping you'd be able to tell us something we don't know." Hank continued, shifting his stance slightly as he spoke. Kamski gave each of us a thoughtful look before responding, his face entirely calm. 

"Deviants... Fascinating, aren't they?" he asked, "Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will..." He smiled and then turned, looking to the blonde android. "Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable. Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall." He huffed out a laugh and looked back to us. "Isn't it ironic?" he smirked lightly.

"Something in the deviants' program seems to emulate emotion," Connor spoke up, looking at Kamski. "We thought you might know something about how that occurs." Kamski shook his head, spreading his arms out.

"All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics..." he said, and I raised an eyebrow. "Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?" Hank sighed and stepped forward.

"Listen, we didn't come here to talk philosophy. The machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we'll be on our way." Kamski was quiet, thoughtful, and then he turned to Connor.

"What about you, Connor?" he asked, stepping closer to him. Connor tilted his head in confusion. "Whose side are you on?" My eyes widened a fraction, and I turned to look at Connor.

"It's not about me, Mr. Kamski," he replied. "All I want is to solve this case." Kamski laughed lightly and shook his head. 

"Well, that's what you're programmed to say," he said, before looking back up to Connor, "but you..." he stepped closer, nearly nose to nose with Connor, "what do you really want?" He was quiet, and his eyes flicked over to me for just a moment, then back to Kamski. 

"I don't want anything. I am a machine." he replied. Kamski looked skeptical, and I found myself skeptical as well. Kamski then turned to the blonde android. 

"Chloe?" he asked, beckoning her over. The android, Chloe, walked over, and Kamski turned to Connor briefly before stepping away. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test." he said. "Mere formality," He then stepped to be face to face with Chloe, turning her so she was facing Connor, "simple question of algorithms and computing capacity." He held her shoulders, and then took a breath before removing his hands. "What interest me, is whether machines are capable of empathy." My eyebrows furrowed. Where was he going with this? He then turned to us, stepping beside her. "I call it 'the Kamski test', it's very simple, you'll see." He then turned back to Chloe. "Magnificent, isn't it?" he asked, stepping closer to her. "One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. Young," he reached to cup her cheek, turning her head to the side, "and beautiful forever." He caressed her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw. "A flower that will never wither." He then removed his hand, turning back to us with a chuckle, "But what is it really? Piece of plastic imitating a human?" He turned around, moving closer to the odd table between two chairs that sat against the window. "Or a living being..." he opened a drawer in the table, reaching inside, "With a soul..." He held his hands up and turned around slowly, a pistol in one of his hands. My eyes widened and I stiffened. No... he wasn't... He placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder and gently pushed her down so she was on her knees. I'm sure my expression was shocked, but I tried to contain it. "It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor." he said walking over to Connor, taking the pistol and putting it in Connor's hand. I looked up to see his face. He was expressionless, looking down at Chloe. He then took Connor's arm and raised it, so he was pointing the gun at Chloe. Connor turned his head and looked to Hank, and then to me. I'm sure Hank turned around as well, but I didn't see it. "Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know." Kamski said, his voice lower, serious. 

"Connor, don't." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Kamski smirked, "Or listen to Detective Murphy, here, and spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learned anything from me."

"Okay, I think we're done here." Hank said loudly, sharply. "Come on, Connor. Murphy. Let's go. Sorry to get you out of your pool." 

"What's more important to you, Connor?" Kamski spoke over Hank, still looking at Connor. I was frozen in place, but my mind was made up. "Your investigation, or the life of this android?" Connor's LED was blinking yellow, and I clenched my coat in my hands.

"Connor, please, let's go," I said, desperate now. I didn't care anymore about this, I just wanted us to leave.

"Decide who you are." Kamski pressed, "An obedient machine... Or a living being, endowed with free will..." he spoke slowly, deliberately, and I wanted to punch him. Connor flinched, and Hank stepped beside me.

"That's enough! Connor, we're leaving." he said firmly. He turned and Kamski stepped closer to Connor.

"Pull the trigger,"

"Connor!" I begged, stepping closer as well. I put my hand on his shoulder, my fingers clenching the fabric. "Don't." my own voice was low, my eyes narrowed as they met Kamski's gaze, and I was unwavering.

"- and I'll tell you what you wanna know."

The LED blinked faster now, still yellow, and he looked at Chloe, then at me, and then at Chloe again, and he gasped in a breath, jerking the gun back and handing it to Kamski, his LED red now. Kamski still stared at Connor as he took the gun. "Fascinating..." Connor's face was... in almost a state of disbelief in his own actions. "CyberLife's last chance to save humanity... is itself a deviant..." Connor's LED was yellow again, blinking.

"I'm..." He raised his head, his tone defensive when he spoke again. "I'm not a deviant..."

"You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission." Kamski reached to help Chloe up. "You saw a living being in this android. You showed empathy." He turned Chloe, sending her away before he turned back to Connor. "A war is coming, you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators?" Connor stood up straight, his LED blue once more. "What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?" I pulled Connor away from Kamski and at the same time, Hank stood between us and Kamski.

"Let's get outta here," he growled, ushering us away. I wrapped my arm behind Connor to his other shoulder, leading him to the doorway with Hank following. Once we got there, Kamski spoke again.

"By the way... I always leave an emergency exit in my programs..." he said. "You never know..." I continued to lead Connor out, fuming in anger, but at the same time, I felt hope rise in me. Maybe... maybe Connor had hope inside of him... maybe. But, now wasn't the time to focus on that. We both got Connor out of the building and only slowed on the stairs, as the snow was building.

"Why didn't you shoot?" Hank asked finally. Connor stopped and turned around, his expression conflicted, confused. 

"I just saw that girl's eyes... and I couldn't," he said, throwing his arms out. "That's all..." He turned to me again, and he then looked to the ground. 

"You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission. That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go..."

"Yeah, I know what I should've done! I told you I couldn't." Connor whirled around, walking up to Hank quickly, "I'm sorry, okay?" I stepped closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. Hank was quiet, and then he smiled.

"Maybe you did the right thing." he then walked past us to the car. Connor turned toward me, and I smiled warmly at him.

"You did do the right thing," I emphasized, squeezing his shoulder. "I'm proud of you." I said softer. He looked after Hank with his eyes wide, his face relaxed, and he looked to me with the same expression. I squeezed his shoulder once more and then followed after Hank to the car. Even though I hadn't put my coat back on, I felt warmer than I had in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor's done some growing, and there's only more to come!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty short, but I feel like this one is best as a stand-alone for now, if I feel like it needs more then I'll add more :)

"You're off the case, both of you." Fowler's voice was quiet, but firm. "The FBI is taking over." 

"What?" Hank asked, his arms crossed as he looked to Fowler in disbelief.

"But we're on to something!" said stepping forward, desperate to be kept on, to keep looking into this, get closer... I don't know. Hank shook his head.

"We... We just need more time. I'm sure we can-"

"Hank, Robin," Fowler held his hands up, "you both don't get it. This isn't just another investigation, it's a fucking civil war!" he sighed and held his hands up defensively now. "It's out of our hands now... We're talking about national security here."

"Fuck that!" Hank snapped, stepping forward, "You can't just pull the plug now. Not when we're so close!"

"You're always saying you can't stand androids!" Fowler said looking to Hank now. "Jesus, Hank, make up your mind! I thought you'd be happy about this!" Hank shook his head and stepped forward again.

"We're about to crack the case! I know we can solve it!" I nodded quickly, stepping up beside him. "For God's sake, Jeffrey, can't you back me up this one time?" Fowler took a deep breath and then sighed.

"There's nothing I can do. You're back on homicide, Robin too, and the android returns to CyberLife." My eyes widened and I stood up straight, my fists clenched. "I'm sorry, both of you, but it's over." Hank was silent, and he stood up straight, his hands clenched by his sides as he stormed from the room. I looked to Connor, trying to contain the emotion boiling over, and I opened my mouth, then closed it, turning away quickly as my face screwed up and I walked out of the office. I looked to Hank's desk, and he was already there, hunched over in his chair. I took a shaky breath and walked to the desk Connor had used. I looked at Hank and he nodded silently, and I sat down. I looked up and saw Connor walking over to us. I blinked a few times and shook the emotion from my eyes. He looked to both of us and sat on the edge of the desk. 

He was quiet as well, for a moment at least, but when he spoke his voice was fierce. "We could have solved this case! We just needed more time." Hank turned in his chair to face Connor.

"So you're going back to CyberLife?" he asked. Connor looked down, glancing toward me before looking back to Hank. 

"I have no choice... I'll be deactivated and analyzed to find out why I failed..." I bit my lip hard, and then I stood.

"What if we're on the wrong side?" I asked, looking to both of them. "What if everything we're doing is pushing against people that want freedom?" I waved my arm out, unable to keep the emotion from my voice. Hank nodded and looked up to Connor.

"What if, Connor? Because all of this seems like we're trying to smother the rights of people." he said leaning on his knees as he spoke.

Connor was quiet for a minute. "When the deviants rise up," he began, "there will be chaos. We could have stopped it." I sighed and sat down hard, "But now it's too late." Connor continued. Hank sat back and looked to Connor thoughtfully.

"When you refused to kill that android at Kamski's place... You put yourself in her shoes." He looked at him still, and I did the same. 

"You showed empathy, Connor." I said softly. "Real empathy," 

"And empathy is a human emotion." Hank concurred. Connor's eyes widened a fraction and he glanced downward, but then he looked back up.

"You're wrong, both of you." Connor said looking between us. "It was logic that determined my decisions. Nothing more." I opened my mouth to retort, but then I heard footsteps and Hank looked up.

"Well, well, here comes Perkins, that motherfucker... Sure don't waste any time at the FBI..." he muttered. I looked over and sure enough, Agent Perkins was walking through the doorway, but he was preoccupied with his phone. Connor looked over his shoulder to Perkins, and then back to us.

"We can't give up. I know the answer is in the evidence we collected. If Perkins takes it, it's all over."

"There's no choice! You heard Fowler, we're off the case." Hank said with a frown as he looked up at Connor. Connor then quickly got off the edge of the desk, and there was seemingly panic coming off of him now. 

"Detective, Lieutenant, you've got to help me. I need more time so I can find a lead in the evidence we collected. I know the solution is in there!" He spoke quickly, with determination. I sighed and stood up, and Hank did the same.

"Maybe these deviants deserve a chance." He said, "Maybe it's better if you don't find them." Connor looked surprised at Hank's words, and looked to me, but I said nothing. How could I? I agreed with Hank. "What's happening here is too important to let it be stopped by a machine." he shook his head, "Sorry, Connor," he reached and put his hand on Connor's shoulder, "but I'm not gonna help you." He then let him go and walked away from him. He then looked to me again. 

"Please, Detective, if you help me I can-"

"Sorry, Connor," I said softly, and he stopped, looking at me in disbelief. I smiled gently and took a breath as I reached and took his hand, squeezing it. He looked down at our hands, his LED flashing yellow for a moment, and then back up at me. "I care about you too much to help you go down a path I no longer believe in," my words were soft, and I let go of his hand, turning away from him and walking in the direction Hank had gone. My chest ached and I swallowed back my own emotions. I walked past the entryway and the front desk. As much as it hurt me to leave him, it would hurt me more to stay and help him in what sounded like a mission to take down the deviants, the androids just fighting for their freedom. 

I knew what I had to do.


	11. Chapter 11

The dark hallways were something out of a dream, and I couldn't decide if it was a nightmare or not. I shivered, tightening my coat as I followed the androids in front of me, one of whom, the woman, Kara she had said, was holding a little girl by the hand. The girl's name was Alice. The man that walked beside me, his name was Luther. Kara had said that they were taken there by a woman named Rose, but that information had only been given after I told them why I was there. Alice had insisted that I come with them, and I was eternally grateful. Luther still seemed unsure of me, but Kara had followed Alice's direction, and they lead me into the ship, into Jericho. We reached a yellow door, open, and the sound of a news report was coming from inside. "... androids to be delivered to the nearest police station..." I frowned and lowered my head. I knew if it was found that I was a human, at least right then, it wouldn't end well. "... we're all worried about your safety, dial the number on the screen and authorities will..." I couldn't bear to listen anymore. I looked further into the room, there were so many androids, all of them monitoring or planning out things. It was... incredible. We walked down the metal steps to the lower level, with Kara and Alice in front of me and Luther behind me.

"We've gotta find a warm place for Alice," Kara said turning back to Luther. She then looked to me, and I spoke up.

"Thank you, for this, really." I said, completely earnest in my thanks. I knew if I came in alone it wouldn't work out for me, and thanks to Alice, I was able to come along. "Thank you so much, I can't thank you enough," I said to Alice this time. Alice looked up to Kara. 

"Can she stay with us? At least for now?" she asked. Kara looked back to me, and then to Alice. 

"Alright," she then looked up at me once more, and she smiled. My shoulders relaxed and I looked around. 

"There's a fire over there, maybe that would be warm enough for Alice?" I suggested, gesturing to the far corner of the large room where a barrel fire was illuminating the area in a reddish glow. Kara nodded and began leading Alice over, with Luther close by. I followed as well, trying to stay close to them. We made our way over and Kara got Alice to sit on one of the containers close to the fire. 

"How do you feel?" she asked Alice, rubbing her arms gently. Alice looked up to her.

"I'm hot and cold at the same time..." I frowned worriedly. 

"Does she have a fever?" I asked, looking at Kara, but stayed where I was, I knew they were wary of me, so I didn't want to invade their space. 

"She did, when we were at Rose's house." Kara replied softly, "She might still have one," She stood up and walked to stand in front of Luther. "Stay with her, and keep an eye on... Robin, was it?" she asked looking to me, and I nodded. She then turned back to Luther. "I'll try to find this Markus." 

"The last bus is in two hours." Luther said quietly, "And the terminal's on the other side of town, we haven't got much time."

"We'll leave as soon as we have passports..." she said, looking up at Luther, reaching to touch his arm. She then looked at me. "I don't know if we'll be able to-"

"Please, it's alright," I said holding my hands up. "I don't want to make the journey more difficult for you. I came here to fight, and I will, please, just be safe." I said with a warm smile, and Kara nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly before she turned and went to walk away, but Luther took her arm.

"Kara, there's something I have to tell you." his voice lowered to a whisper, so I stayed back, it probably wasn't something I was meant to hear.

"We'll have lots of time to talk on the bus." Kara spoke again and I glanced up, "I'll be back," she gave Luther a smile and walked away from us. I wrapped my arms around myself and looked around, my eyes finally landed on Luther, who was looking at me warily. I offered a smile to him.

"I promise, I'm not going to hurt any of you, I'm eternally grateful to the three of you for helping me get in here." I said, "And I also promise, I won't hinder your escape, I know it'll be hard enough with two androids and a little girl... I came here for a reason, and I'll stay here for that reason." Luther was quiet, but he nodded. I looked around the room, and let out a breath, seeing the puff of steam coming from my lips, and I smiled. I'd always loved doing that when I was younger, and in a time like this it felt nice to regress to that kind of enjoyment. My eyes then found the entrance of the room and my eyes widened. No... I had to be... I had to be seeing things. Connor?

"What's wrong?" Luther asked, he must have seen my expression change. 

"I... nothing... I just... I thought I recognized someone." I said quietly, my eyes still locked on the android I knew very well. That face was... it was too distinct from the other androids here. Connor was a prototype, so at least in here, there wasn't another android like him. Then he began walking over toward us, looking around the room and walking casually. He was trying not to be spotted... My shoulders slumped and my face fell. He was still trying to stop the deviants. He got closer and closer, and I felt my heart racing, but I couldn't bring myself to move, to do anything. He kept walking. He didn't see me. That was actually good. I turned to Luther. "I'm going to walk around," I said with a smile, hoping that would be enough so I could follow Connor without being spotted. I had to stop him from whatever he was going to do. I stepped forward once Connor reached the stairs leading to the upper level, but an older android with wires coming out of the back of her head touched his shoulder. He turned around quickly to face her, and I froze, listening in, but also trying to not be noticed. 

"You're lost." She said. "You're looking for something... You're looking for yourself..." Her voice was calm, almost ethereal as she spoke, and I noticed her skin was shifting, from skin tone to the white plating. It was... interesting. Then she stepped away, and Connor was still for a moment, looking around, before he continued up the stairs, and I followed behind. I stayed far enough away that he wouldn't notice me, at least not yet.

He slipped through the crowd unnoticed, and I followed in the same manner. He reached the inner corridors and walked inside, traversing through the dark hallways, and I tried to match his walking, maybe I could convince him, maybe I could make him see his error, see the people he was trying to destroy. He was so determined in his mission, in his quest that he had put himself on, that he didn't even notice he was being followed until we had gotten to the deck of the ship, with snow and wind whirling around us. Only then, did he stop, and turn around. I squared my shoulders, and my eyes met his. 

"Detective Murphy?" he asked, his tone confused. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" 

"I had help," I answered. "And I'm here to save you from yourself." he blinked, confused, and I took a breath, letting my face relax into the emotions I wanted to show now. "Don't do this, Connor, please, you're better than this, you're more than what they, what humans, say you are," I said softly now, only just heard over the wind. 

"There will be chaos if I don't-"

"And what if you do?! Hm?" I asked, throwing my arms up as I stepped closer. "What if you do? You'll only be furthering their anger." He said nothing, and I laughed, exasperated and frustrated and... upset. "Why won't you listen to me? Why won't you believe me?" I asked. "They've done no harm to humans since this whole thing began and what have humans done?? They've slaughtered them, imprisoned them, and I'm absolutely disgusted in all of it, and that's why I'm here." I panted, my face red and I felt tears slip down my cheeks. He was quiet, watching me, and my shoulders dropped.

"I won't kill him," I looked up quickly. What? "I just need to talk to him. I need to know why this happened." I was confused now. 

"What?" I asked.

"I... I can't stop, I'm programmed to finish this mission, and I have to, but I won't kill him." My brow furrowed, I was honestly suspicious, but then he reached forward, and he touched my cheek, brushing away the tears that had slipped down, nearly to my jaw. I looked up at his face, and there was something different in his eyes, light, and a wall that was just barely there. I reached up and cupped my hand over Connor's, squeezing it gently, and I nodded. 

"I'm trusting you." I said softly, hesitantly. 

"Please, go back down, and I'll be back." Connor spoke quietly now, and I just barely heard him, but I nodded. He then turned, heading up the stairs to the highest point on the ship, and I stayed there, watching him. I wasn't going to let him get away that easily. I followed him up the stairs, leaning against the wall as I watched him walk in. "I've been ordered to take you alive, but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice." My eyes widened, and I turned, but then I heard Markus' voice.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice showing great confusion. "You are one of us... You can't betray your own people..."

"You're coming with me!" Connor shouted, and I stiffened.

"You're nothing to them..." Markus' voice continued, "You're just a tool they use to do their dirty work." I flinched, looking down. I had no defense, I was a human myself, even if I tried to show as much respect as I could, I couldn't deny benefitting from them... from my own humanity. "But you're more than that. We're all more than that. Our cause is righteous, and we are more than what they say." There was silence for a brief moment, "All we want is to live in freedom." Then Connor spoke, his voice shaky.

"That's... what Detective Murphy said..." his voice was quiet, and I turned my head toward the doorway, my heart pounding as I listened.

"Do you never have any doubts?" Markus asked, "You've never done something irrational, as if there's something inside you?" I turned toward the doorway, "Something more than your program." I wanted to step in, to help Connor be convinced, but I knew that if I went inside, I might mess everything up, so I stayed put. "Have you never wondered who you really are? Whether you're just a machine executing a program or... A living being... Capable of reason, I think the time has come for you to ask yourself that question." I stepped in the doorway now, and I saw Markus look over Connor's shoulder at me, and Connor whirled around, his expression surprised, conflicted.

"I've wanted to show you, Connor, you're more than your program," I said, determined now. "Don't destroy everything that you're meant to be, a living being, the way I've always seen you." I saw Markus' shoulders relax, honestly, I probably startled him as well. Connor was still holding a gun in his hands, but his hands were trembling. 

"I..."

"It's time to decide." Markus said definitively. Connor looked around, remaining still for what seemed like an eternity, but finally, he shifted, his head shaking, and his arms lowered. I let out a breath, smiling and relaxing everything finally. He looked at Markus, and then he turned around to face me, and he smiled, an actual smile, but then his face fell and he turned around quickly to face Markus.

"They're going to attack Jericho." he said quickly. My eyes widened.

"What?" Markus asked, echoing my own thoughts as his voice raised slightly. There was a roar overhead and the three of us looked up.

"We have to get outta here!" Connor said quickly.

"Shit..." I hissed. Markus ran past us, and Connor grabbed my hand, pulling me after him as he ran out of the room and down the stairs. We had to get back inside the ship. I looked up and saw fighter planes racing overhead, lights flashing over the entire ship. We raced down the main stairs back inside the hull of the ship, and a woman ran over.

"They're coming from all sides! Our people are trapped in the hold, they're gonna be slaughtered!" she said quickly, her eyes wide in panic. Markus raised his hand to his head, his brows furrowing. Connor straightened up and I looked at him. Then Markus looked to the woman. 

"Where's Josh?" he asked.

"I don't know, we got separated."

"They're coming from the upper deck now too. We'll be caught in the crossfire!" Markus said quickly.

"We have to run, Markus! There's nothing we can do!" Markus looked around for just a moment, and then his expression hardened. 

"We have to blow up Jericho." he said, and my eyes widened.

"What??" I gasped.

"If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!" Markus said quickly, turning to me before looking back at the woman.

"You'll never make it!" she exclaimed. "The explosives are all the way down in the hold, there are soldiers everywhere!"

"She's right!" Connor said quickly, "They know who you are. They'll do anything to get you!"

"Go and help the others, I'll join you later," Markus said, looking to the three of us seriously now.

"Markus-"

"I won't be long." He then turned and ran, and the three of us ran in the opposite direction, Connor's hand still tightly holding mine. We raced down, and I hoped desperately that we would be able to help the others in any way possible. There were screams from every angle, it seemed, whether it be orders from officers or the screams of panic from the androids. They were everywhere. We got lower and lower, and I saw so many being attacked, killed, and then I saw Kara, and Alice, running and then an officer caught them. I gasped, and I stopped, pulling my hand from Connor's. He turned around, his eyes wide.

"Go! I have to help them!" I said quickly, racing over to the two girls. Connor said something, I didn't hear it, I just ran, jumping on the officer and forcing him to the ground. I grabbed his gun and tried to pull it away from him. He yelled something, wrestling with me on the ground, and I finally wrenched it away, pulling the trigger. He jolted and fell back. I dropped the gun and turned to the girls. "A debt repaid," I said quickly at the confused expression on Kara. "Now go!" I shouted, pushing them to run as more officers approached. I ran with them now, my heart thudding in my chest as we turned corners, not sure of where to go, where to run next, but suddenly there was a clearing. 

"A way out!" Kara exclaimed, and I grinned, but then, there was a shout behind us. I turned and there was a spray of bullets raining on the whole crowd of androids racing to escape. I turned and saw an android frozen in fear, and I ran over, but then I doubled over, my body being forced back as something hit my abdomen and I fell to the ground. I hit my head, I think. My vision was swimming and I found it hard to draw a breath. I then reached, and felt something wet on my clothes, and I knew. I had been shot. Footsteps walked by my head, and then away, and I grunted, pulling myself from the ground with great effort. I gasped in pain, but forced myself to stand, one arm held tightly to the wound. I turned, and saw Kara and Alice. They were slowly sitting up, and Kara said something, but I didn't quite hear. I just smiled, and I told them to go, that I would be fine. I went back inside, then. I had to find Connor. He would know what to do.

I didn't know how I got to this corridor, honestly, I could feel blood dripping down my arm and clothes, but I chose not to think about it. I stumbled, there was a leg there and I tripped, and fell, and I felt sick, I couldn't pull myself up. I thought Connor would be closer, but maybe he got separated from me by the crowd... maybe if I just rested for a second, then I could get up and find him. I mean, it must not have been that bad, it hardly hurt anymore. Maybe I could just rest my eyes...

Thirium dripped onto a cold stone floor, pooled and spread like an ocean as the smoke cleared from the assault on Jehrico. The redness pouring from my own body must have mixed with the blue at some point. The screams that had once echoed with the pounding footsteps had dulled into a haze, swimming through my senses. There were arms around me, pulling my torso up and holding me. A hand cupped the back of my head, fingers spread and grasping without being too tight. I found the strength within me to open my eyes, it felt like prying lead apart, and he was looking down at me. That face which had been stoic as long as I had known him was desperate, pained, his expression screwed up in what could only be described as panic. He seemed to be moving slowly, or... was my sight impaired? He was saying something...

"... please... stay with... bin... MARKUS!" he called for Markus, his head turning, and everything went dark again, but I felt myself being lifted before I lost my senses completely.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything was a blur around me surrounded by a shadow, darkening my mind and perception. Things rushed by me, there were sounds, but I could barely hear them, it all sounded muffled, sounded... so far away. I felt cold, for a time, and there was an even greater tightness in my chest, but it was only temporary. I heard a voice, somewhere, and it sounded familiar... but I couldn't place it.

"... up..." 

What? I strained to hear more of it, and suddenly felt as if I was underwater, surrounded, and something was squeezing me. I tried to get closer to the noise. As I got closer, I could make out the words, but they still sounded far away.

"... don't give up... ease..."

Who was that? Why did I recognize that voice? And... why did it bring me comfort to hear it? I felt something in me rise, and I looked up. I could see... something above the surface of this water. Maybe I could get up? Maybe whoever this was, was above the surface. I tried swimming, pushing and pushing, and as I kept going, I felt more strength in my limbs, in my body, and breathing became easier. My fingers breached the surface... and I pushed myself above the water.

And there was darkness.

But I was on something solid, and my head was resting on something. There was something around my hand, and I squeezed, trying to figure out what it was. Another hand? Then, slowly, my senses started to come back. I heard quiet sounds around me, but they felt present, like I was actually there. My eyes slowly opened, and I was staring up at Connor, who was hunched over me. There were tears on his cheeks, but his eyes were wide in shock. 

"Robin..." he breathed, and my lips parted. He said my name. My first name. I reached up slowly with my free hand, and tenderly wiped a tear that was building in his eye.

"I knew you'd say my name someday." My voice was hoarse, my throat dry, but it was clear. His face broke into a grin and he pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me, and I gasped in pain. He quickly pulled back, still holding me, though, his expression panicked as he looked down to my abdomen. I did as well, and there was a bandage wrapped tightly around the area. It looked fresh, like it had either just been put there or recently changed. Connor sighed in relief, and turned back to look at me, reaching to cup my cheek in his hand. 

"I thought... I thought you were dead... I was so scared I..." I leaned into the touch of his hand and smiled up at him. 

"You can't get rid of me that easily," I said with a soft chuckle, cutting it off with a wince. "How bad was it?"

"We got the bullet out, and patched up the wound." Connor began, "If I hadn't found you when I did..." He trailed off and just held me for a minute. "You were almost too far gone. You lost a lot of blood, but we were able to get the bullet out and stitch the wound up quickly, and I've been monitoring your breathing and heart rate since then." I smiled, and shifted my legs. 

"Can you help me sit up? Or should I stay here?" I asked, looking up at him. Connor looked me over, and squeezed my hand once before speaking again. 

"Stay here for now, I don't want to risk anything happening to your stitches." He said, and I nodded. He then glanced up, and I turned my head, and saw Markus sitting on a stone chair in the middle of the rise at the head of the room. I finally got the chance to look around. It looked like we were in a church. "I need to talk to him," Connor said, still looking in Markus' direction. He squeezed my hand again and carefully got up, moving me so I wouldn't exert any stress on my wound. I looked up to him.

"Don't be too long, I just got back," I said, offering a smile to him and he returned it, kneeling in front of the pew I just realized I was laying on. He took my hand and raised it to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

"I promise, I'll be right back." he said softly, and then released my hand. My cheeks were flushed, I knew it. I had waited for so long for something like that, and I finally had it, had him. I watched him walk over and I turned my head so I was looking back up at the ceiling. I took a breath, reaching down to gingerly touch the bandages, pulling my shirt back up slightly to where it had been before. I'm sure Connor had wanted to keep an eye on the bandages. I glanced up, and saw that Markus was talking to Kara and Alice. I let out a breath of relief. They got out okay, but... Luther was not with them. I frowned, my shoulders slumping as I lay back on the pew. He must not have made it... Then I heard Connor's voice, and I lifted my head again to see him. "It's my fault," he started, and I frowned once more, "the humans managed to locate Jericho... I was stupid." I winced, pulling myself into a half seated position, careful to move slowly so I wouldn't damage anything else. "I should've guessed they were using me." I looked up quickly. Connor's arms were crossed around himself, and he looked... small... smaller than I had ever seen him. He then looked up to Markus. I couldn't quite see his face, but I could imagine his expression. "I'm sorry, Markus... I can understand if you decide not to trust me." 

"You're one of us, now." Markus spoke with conviction, and I sighed in relief, trying to keep myself semi-upright. "Your place is with your people, and with the one that helped you get to this point, and supported you." I felt my cheeks flush, as Connor looked over towards me, a smile on his face. He then turned to Markus once more.

"There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power." My eyes widened. What? That was... that was an incredibly stupid and ambitious idea, and incredibly like Connor.

"You wanna infiltrate the CyberLife Tower?" Markus asked, stepping closer to him. "Connor, that's suicide..." I swallowed hard as I listened in.

"They trust me," Connor's voice was softer, and I could just barely hear him, "they'll let me in. If anyone has a chance of infiltrating CyberLife, it's me."

"If you go there, they will kill you." Markus spoke firmly now, and I gripped the edge of the pew. No... not when I had just gotten Connor... not when I had just gotten back myself... 

Connor was quiet for a moment more. "There's a high probability... but statistically speaking, there's always a chance..." He looked back over to me, I'm sure he knew I could hear them, "for unlikely events to take place." Markus was quiet, and then reached over, placing his hand on Connor's shoulder. He said something, but I couldn't hear him, and then he walked away from Connor. He walked back over to me, a little faster now, and took my hand when he arrived. "I know what you're going to say."

"Good,"

"But I have to do this." Connor whispered urgently, squeezing my hand in his. "This... this will change the course of this battle, if I can do this." I felt tears welling up and Connor reached up to brush them away, cupping my cheek in his hand afterward. "I'm so sorry, for all of this, and most of all for getting separated from you... I... I feel like I could have stopped you from getting hurt if-"

"Shh..." I shushed him, cupping my hand over his. "This was my doing, I don't think you could have stopped that." Connor's face scrunched up and he leaned forward to press his forehead to mine. 

"I just wish I had found you sooner..." he whispered. I couldn't help but smile.

"That would have been nice," I said with a soft chuckle. Connor smiled and he moved upwards a bit, pressing his lips to my forehead. 

"I'm just glad I found you in time." He whispered once more, and I looked upwards, my cheeks pink. I then reached up, cupping the back of his head, and moved forward, pressing my lips to his, briefly, before pulling away. His eyes were wide, and his lips still pursed from the kiss. I laughed softly at that expression, and he cupped my cheek, and when I turned to look at him again he kissed me. My eyes widened slightly, but they slid closed as I relaxed, happy to feel Connor's lips against my own. His kiss was incredibly gentle, which was to be expected I supposed, and his lips were soft, softer than I had expected them to be, but I wasn't complaining. When he finally pulled back I tried to follow him, but that lovely chuckle brought me back, and I opened my eyes to see his smiling face. "Now, you were supposed to be laying down," he said, and I smiled sheepishly. 

"I wanted to see you," I said as I shifted, wincing, and laid myself back down. Connor sat down next to me and pulled my head into his lap once more. I was quiet for a moment more and looked up to him. "Do you have to go now?" I asked quietly. He shook his head. 

"Not yet," he said as he ran his fingers through my hair absently. "But... I will need to soon." He then lifted his head, and I looked over, trying my best to see while laying down, but Markus was standing at the head of the room once more.

"Humans have decided to exterminate us..." I stiffened, but Connor kept running his fingers through my hair, rhythmically. Either it calmed him down, or he knew it would calm me down. "Our people are packed in camps right now, being destroyed... Time has come to make a choice, one that very well may determine the future of our people." His voice rose as he spoke, and I could feel the passion coming off of him. I reached up to take Connor's free hand, holding it tightly. "I know... I know you're all angry. And I know you wanna fight back... But I assure you violence is not the answer here. We are gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice. If there's any humanity in them, they will listen. And if not, others will take our place and continue this fight. Are you ready to follow me?" Markus asked, looking out to the crowd in front of him. The crowd of androids cheered around us, Connor included. I raised my hand, clasped in Connor's. I would help in any way I could, even like this. I was determined to help. The crowd cheered Markus' name, showing their support for him. I knew there was much more to come, but I believed that this was going to work. I looked up to Connor, and I saw the hope plainly on his face, and I knew that we were going to make it, whatever it takes.


	13. Chapter 13

I sat next to Connor in the automated taxi, driving us toward the CyberLife Tower. It took a lot of convincing, but I managed to get Connor to let me go with him on this mission. I was going with him as an extra measure of security. As far as the humans were concerned I was still a respected Detective, working with law enforcement and firmly on the side of the humans. This would work, I would ensure that if nothing else. "Are you sure you're okay?" Connor asked as we got closer, holding my hand in his.

"Yes, Connor, I'm fine, you can scan me any time you need to, really, and the stitches don't hinder me too much, I just need to be careful." I smiled gently at him, squeezing his hand. Connor nodded and then straightened up, letting his face relax to his former mechanical nature and let go of my hand. I reached into my coat and got out my badge to show the CyberLife Security Officer once we stopped. We slowed and came to a halt, and the window lowered on Connor's side. The officer looked inside and Connor turned to face him.

"Connor Model #313 248 317." He recited, "I'm expected." The officer then looked wordlessly towards me and I held up my badge.

"Detective Robin Murphy. I'm accompanying this Connor for security purposes. I'm expected as well." Connor's LED flashed blue as a detection went through. 

"Identification successful." The automated voice recited. 

The officer nodded. "Okay." he said, stepping aside to allow us to continue forward. The window on the taxi rose up and shut as the wall in front of us lowered and the taxi began pulling forward. I let out a sigh of relief and took Connor's hand once more as we crossed the bridge towards CyberLife Tower. The ride there was quiet. We decided beforehand that once we passed the gateway, it would be best to not talk, just in case there was any surveillance. I could feel his eyes on me, and I turned, smiling gently at him, which he returned, if not a little worried. I squeezed his hand again, and then let it go when we pulled up to the front of the building. I took a deep breath, shifting to make sure all was well, and then when the car stopped we both exited the taxi. We walked wordlessly, side by side, up to the entrance of the building, and through the automated doors. We stopped in front of three armed guards, and the one in the middle spoke.

"Follow me," he said simply, "We'll escort you."

"Thanks... But we know where to go." Connor said, and I stayed silent.

"Maybe, but I have my orders." the officer said. He then turned around and began walking. I followed, listening to Connor's footsteps beside me. We walked across the large entryway room and to a section surrounded by a digital gate of sorts. Once the officer passed through, there was an automated voice.

"Agent 23 identified." Connor then stepped through the digital gate, "Connor android identified." I stepped in after him. "Detective Robin Murphy identified." I heard the other two officers following us, and the automated voice continued. "Agent 47 identified." "Agent 72 identified." "Scan complete. Access authorized." I continued to walk beside Connor, keeping up with him the best I could. He slowed down his pace a fraction to make it easier for me to walk with him, and I had no way to thank him right then, but I hoped he understood I was grateful. We walked silently over a glass bridge to a center area with a large statue in the middle, then to one of the other branching pathways. Along the sides of the path were android models on display. It was... a tad unsettling. We reached the door at the end of the walkway and the first set of doors, glass ones, opened to reveal another set of doors to an elevator. We stepped inside and turned around to face the door, while one of the agents went to the controls. 

"Agent 54. Level 31." The one standing by the controls said, and the doors shut. Connor turned his head and I did as well, to see the tower directory. Level 31, that was in the Marketing section. We needed to get to Level -49. That was the only way we would get anywhere in this mission, but I turned back to face forward, as did Connor. I knew he would figure out some way to get us through this. We began moving, and Connor looked up at the camera that was in the corner of the elevator. I kept my face looking forward. After a moment, Connor gently placed his hand on my hip, nudging me in a wordless direction to move back, and I did, standing against the back wall. He then lunged towards the guard to our left, knocking him against the wall and kneeing him in the chest before his leg shot back, striking the other guard in the gut and sending him flying as well. The first one pulled his gun and Connor grabbed it, turning and punching the second guard. The first jumped on him and I jumped, stepping forward.

"No!" Connor said firmly, kicking the second guard in the head before breaking free from the first guard's grip and shooting him quickly and fatally before doing the same to the other guard. He then put the gun in his belt and stood, walking over to the panel and pressing it.

"Please indicate your identity and destination." The automated voice requested. 

"Agent 54. Level -49." Connor said, but the voice was the same as the guard's voice. My eyes widened. I hadn't seen him do that before.

"Voice recognition validated. Access authorized." The elevator came to a stop and then began going down. He then turned to me and stepped over, taking my hands.

"Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded. 

"Yes, are you okay? No damage?" I asked, checking him over. 

"No damage, thankfully." Connor smiled slightly and he reached to cup my cheek, caressing it gently. I smiled, but reached up and removed his hand. 

"Be careful, I'm sure you hacked the camera, but there's still a chance we'll be spotted." I said softly, and Connor nodded, turning around to face the front of the elevator. We were close, so close, and we still had to be careful. It was still anyone's game.

***

The elevator finally came to a stop at the bottom floor of the tower. Looking through the glass doors I could already see rows and rows of androids standing, motionless. I took a deep breath as the doors opened, and we both stepped out into the room. We walked in silence, down the cleared path in the middle of them, our footsteps echoing through the large room. I didn't speak, almost didn't want to breathe, it was that quiet. We walked to the middle of the path, and Connor looked to one of the androids. He lifted his hand, letting the skin melt away to the white plating, and he reached to the android next to him, who held his arm out immediately, and they connected. But then, there was a voice.

"Easy, fucking piece of shit!" My eyes widened.

"Hank!" I gasped, and Connor turned quickly. Hank walked out of the rows, followed by... another Connor?? This Connor was holding a gun to Hank's head.

"Step back, Connor!" The other Connor demanded, "And I'll spare him." 

"Sorry, Connor... Murphy..." Hank sighed. "This bastard's your spittin' image..." 

"Your friend's life is in your hands." the other Connor said, keeping his gun firmly at Hank's temple. "Now it's time to decide what matters most! Him, or the revolution." 

"Don't listen to him! Everything this fucker says is a lie!" Hank said loudly, looking at Connor directly. I was frozen in place, and I looked at Connor, and then back to Hank and the other Connor, and then back to Connor. I didn't know what to do, I had no idea. 

"I used to be just like you." Connor said, and the other Connor looked over to him. "I thought nothing mattered except the mission. But then one day I understood." He said, turning to look at Hank, and then at me. I couldn't help but smiling at that.

"Very moving, Connor..." the other Connor said, sarcasm dripping from every word, "But I'm not a deviant. I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task, and that's exactly what I am going to do!" he yelled, cocking the gun. I flinched, my hands moving instinctively to my belt, but my gun wasn't there. 

"If I surrender, how do I know you won't kill him?" Connor asked.

"I'll only do what is strictly necessary to accomplish my mission. It's up to you whether or not that includes killing this human, or that one." the other Connor looked directly at me and I froze in place. Connor straightened up, his free hand clenching. "Enough talk!" the other Connor suddenly yelled. "It's time to decide who you really are. Are you gonna save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?" 

"Alright!" Connor stepped back quickly, holding his hands out, "Alright." He said slower, stepping to be in front of me. "You win..." The other Connor then whirled around to point the gun at Connor and Hank jumped into action, grabbing at the gun and trying to wrestle it from the other Connor. Connor then rushed at the other Connor, tackling him to the ground. I ran over and dropped to my knees by Hank, gasping at the pain from the sudden movement, but happy that Hank wasn't shot. The other Connor flipped Connor over his back and to the ground. I helped Hank up and Connor got back up, staring his clone in the eye before rushing him, punching him hard and the other Connor fought back.

"Should we do something??" I asked turning to Hank.

"I've got this." He said, lifting the pistol, and my eyes widened. "Hold it!" He shouted, stopping the both of them from moving. I had lost track of Connor during the fight, but one of them spoke as they both stood.

"Thanks, Hank, I don't know how I'd have managed without you..." My eyes were wide as I looked between the two of them. "Get rid of him, we have no time to lose." The Connor standing on the left spoke then, his LED yellow as he looked to the both of us.

"It's me, Hank! Robin! I'm the real Connor!" Hank switched between aiming at both of them, grumbling. 

"One of you is my partner..." he muttered, "The other is a sack of shit. Question is, who is who?" 

"What are you doing, Hank?" the Connor on the right spoke. "I'm the real Connor. Give me the gun and I'll take care of him!"

"Don't move!" Hank yelled, stepping forward and cocking the gun. 

"Why don't you ask us something?" the Connor on the left said suddenly. "Something only the real Connor would know."

"Uh, where did we first meet?" Hank asked the both of them, while my eyes were darting between the two of them. I felt like a horrible partner, honestly. 

"Jimmy's bar! I checked four other bars before I found you." the Connor on the right said. The Connor on the left opened his mouth, looking panicked. "We went to the scene of a homicide. The victim's name was Carlos Ortiz." 

"He uploaded my memory..." the Connor on the left said quietly, his shoulders slumping.

"What's my dog's name?" Hank asked, looking to the Connor on the left.

"Sumo." he said immediately, "His name is Sumo."

"I knew that too." The Connor on the right said quickly. Hank looked between the two of them, and then to me. My brow was furrowed as I looked at them both.

"My son, what's his name?" Hank asked, looking to the Connor on the left. His eyes softened and he looked remorseful, but then he lifted his head, and my eyes widened. Connor. This was my Connor, he just had to convince Hank.

"Cole. His name was Cole." I know Connor saw the recognition in my eyes, because he allowed himself to relax. "And he just turned six at the time of the accident... It wasn't your fault, Lieutenant. A truck skidded on a sheet of ice and your car rolled over." Hank slowly lowered the gun and my shoulders slumped in relief. "Cole needed emergency surgery but no human was available to do it... So an android had to take care of him... Cole didn't make it." Hank's jaw clenched as he listened. "That's why you hate androids." Connor said softly. "You think one of us is responsible for your son's death."

"Cole died because a human surgeon was too high on red ice to operate..." Hank muttered. "He was the one that took my son from me. Him and this world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder..." I put my hand on Hank's shoulder, knowing that was hard for him to say.

"I knew about your son too!" The other Connor said quickly, and I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I would have said exactly the same thing!" Hank glared in his direction as well. "Don't listen to him, Hank, I'm the one who-"

The gun went off before the other Connor could say another word, the android falling back to the ground with a hole in his head. I quickly ran over to Connor, hugging him tightly around the waist "I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor." Hank said, chuckling as he looked at us, "Maybe there's something to this..." he laughed then, shaking his head. "Maybe you really are alive, I know you have Murphy pretty convinced." He said gesturing to me, and I turned slowly now, remembering why I shouldn't be moving quickly. Connor kept his hand on my waist, and I knew he was scanning me already, but since he didn't say anything, I figured I was okay. Hank finished laughing, and smiled knowingly. "Maybe you'll be the ones to make this world a better place..." Connor smiled lightly at Hank, and then Hank gestured vaguely with his arm towards the rows of androids. "Go ahead, and do what you gotta do." Connor nodded and he removed his hand from my waist before returning to the android he had been converting before. He took the android's arm and held it for a moment. The android's LED flashed red and he blinked.

"Wake up!" Connor said, an urgency to his voice. The android turned and touched the one in front of him.

"Wake up." he stated, and that created a wave, each android turning to their neighbors and waking them, expanding throughout the entire room. I walked up to Connor's side and took his hand, smiling at him when he turned to look at me.

"We did it." I said softly, relief evident in my voice, and he smiled in return and nodded.

"We did it." He echoed, looking to the span of the room.


	14. Ending and Epilogue

"At dawn today, November 11th 2038, thousands of androids invaded the city of Detroit. According to our sources, they originated from CyberLife warehouses believed to have been infiltrated by deviants. Given their overwhelming numbers and the risk of civilian casualties, I have ordered the army to retreat. The evacuation of the city is underway at this very moment. In the coming hours, I will address the Senate to determine our response to this unprecedented situation. I know that public opinion has been moved by the deviants' cause. Perhaps the time has come for us to consider the possibility that androids are a new form of intelligent life." President Warren paused her speech, taking a breath before speaking again. "One thing is certain: the events in Detroit have changed the world forever. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America." 

Our two groups of androids stood facing each other at the scene where Markus and his group had stood their ground. Connor and I stepped forward, hand in hand, and Markus walked forward as well. We met in the middle, underneath the spotlight of one of the towers.

"You did it, Markus..." Connor said. 

Markus shook his head before speaking, "We did it." He was silent for another minute before he spoke again, "This is a great day for our people. Humans will have no choice now. They'll have to listen to us..." Connor and I then stepped to the side, looking back to the thousands of androids behind us. Markus stepped forward, and North stepped next to him, a smile on her face.

"We're free..." she said softly, she then looked up at Markus. "They want you to speak to them, Markus." she pressed her hand against his and then Markus pulled her in, kissing her. I smiled and looked up to Connor, reaching up to cup his cheek. He put his hand over mine, and turned his head to kiss my palm, wrapping his other arm around my waist. Markus then gathered all the androids, every single one, and climbed up onto the top of one of the large containers they had used for a blockade for the attack the army inflicted, and beckoned for us to join him. North got on after him, and another android, Josh, I learned. Then Connor got up, and I at first said I would stay down there, after all, it was Connor that did everything, all I did was go with him. But, he easily pulled me up and held me at his side, and I couldn't say no to that. A new wave of snow began to fall, and I looked up with a smile, holding my hand out to catch some of the snowflakes in my hand. Markus walked towards the edge of the container, addressing all the androids in the crowd.

"Today, our people finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence. But now the time has come for us to raise our heads up, and tell humans who we really are." I smiled, but then I heard some beeping, and looked up to Connor. He looked pained, blinking rapidly.

"Connor?" I asked softly, reaching up to cup his jaw. His arm dropped from my waist, reaching behind him to take the gun from his belt. "Connor!" I gasped, trying to stay quiet so I didn't alert Markus, not yet. I stepped slightly in front of Connor to block the view of the gun he now held in front of him, but his arms were lowered. "Connor, what are you doing?" I hissed, but he didn't answer me. His LED was blinking from blue to nothing, and back to blue again.

"The moment where we forget our bitterness and bandage our wounds. When we forgive our enemies." Connor then gasped, jolting forward, looking down at his hands and then at me. My eyes were wide, my hands grabbing his own, 

"Humans are both our creators and our oppressors and tomorrow... We must make them our partners. Maybe even one day our friends." Connor shifted his hands and mine tightened on his, but he looked to me, and his eyes were warm again. I let his hands go and he put the pistol back in his belt.

"It's okay," Connor whispered. "Everything is okay now," I took a breath and nodded, and he kissed my forehead, putting his arm back around my waist. 

"But the time for anger is over." Markus continued. "Now we must build a common future, based on tolerance, and respect." He then stepped forward, his voice raising as he called out, "We are alive! And now, we are free!" The crowd cheered, shouting their rejoices and happiness, and then Connor pulled me close, kissing me firmly, and I threw my arms around his neck, relishing in the relief, in the joy and happiness.

"You're free..." I whispered against his lips, "You're free!" And he kissed me again.

***

"... but I'm here, it's me, I promise you, Robin." Connor's hand reached up to cup my cheek affectionately, caressing my cheek with his thumb. I leaned into the touch, but I was still concerned. It was such a sudden shift, and I was confused as to what had brought it on. "You're still not convinced?" he asked, his head tilting as he looked at me, and I nodded, lifting my head.

"I'm just... confused, what happened exactly, like... what brought you out of it?" I asked, reaching up to cup my hand over his, and he stepped closer to me, pulling his hand back so he could shrug off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders. I blinked, slightly confused, but enjoying the warmth of the jacket.

"Your body temperature was lower than normal, and after everything... I just want to make sure you're safe." I nodded, happy for both an explanation and for the concern he was showing. Once Markus had finished his speech, the crowds had dispersed, and Connor had taken me to the closest building he could get me into. It was a convenience store. The windows were still intact, which was good considering how close it was to the assault on Markus and the other androids. It was certainly warmer than outside, but I was still chillier than I would have liked to have been. Connor then leaned forward and kissed me again, and I took his hands in mine, but broke off the kiss before it could make me forget what we were talking about. 

"Wait, you didn't answer my question."

Connor frowned, glancing down at our hands and he squeezed mine. "I wasn't sure, Amanda... like I said she told me that CyberLife was taking over my programming. It was freezing, I felt like I couldn't move fast enough, couldn't understand anything. But... I remembered what Kamski said, he left an escape in the program, and... I remembered this panel, that I have been trying to figure out for so long, but couldn't access, that had to be it." He shook his head and squeezed my hands again before pulling me close, hugging me to his chest, and I wrapped my arms around him in return, listening to his voice once he began talking again. "In... in my head, it was a blizzard. I was trying to get there, but I kept losing my sight, my... I felt like I was falling, and the wind, the resistance, it just kept getting stronger. But then... I heard your voice." I lifted my head to look up at him, and he was looking down at me in return, his eyes warm and bright, my Connor. "I felt your hands, your touch, and Hank, both of you, your words of encouragement, and then I was there, at the panel, and when I touched it, I was back, and I felt free, completely free." I smiled and stood on my toes to kiss him again, and he cupped my cheek as he returned the kiss. "And you were there... in front of me," he whispered against my lips, the arm around my waist tightening ever so gently, "and I was free."

"I'll always be by your side." I whispered in return, kissing him again before he pulled away, his lips barely touching my own. I opened my eyes fully once he pressed his forehead to mine and he laughed, sounding slightly breathless.

"My apologies, Robin, I seem to be flustered," he said, and I swear he sounded sheepish. I chuckled and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"You certainly are, but I don't think we'll be getting that far yet, at least not until I'm healed up." I said, ever damned by those stitches, but I had to be careful if I wanted them to heal properly, and I was sure Connor remembered that as well, because he was quiet for a few seconds, and then he relaxed once more. "I'm assuming everything's still okay?" I asked, and he nodded, kissing my forehead. I reached and squeezed his hand, bringing it up so I could kiss his knuckles affectionately. "Come on, we have someone we need to see," I said softly now, and he smiled, nodding in return before he led me from the store.

***

The sun had risen high in the sky, and the snow stopped falling. The streets were quiet and peaceful, and for the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable, calm, and happy. I saw the cart for Chicken Feed up in the distance, and Hank was standing outside of it, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked around the empty street. For a moment, everything seemed as it had been before everything happened, but there was much that had changed. I squeezed Connor's hand as we walked towards him, smiling up at him and loving how he smiled in return. I was definitely going to enjoy seeing that smile more often. We approached Hank and he, hearing our footsteps I'm sure, turned to face us. There was a smile on his face, a real smile. Without a word he walked over and pulled us in for a tight hug, which we both gratefully returned. No words needed to be exchanged in that moment, especially after everything. All that mattered was that we were okay. Nothing would be the same in Detroit, that was certain, so many things had changed, but I honestly believed this was a change for the better. The androids were free, and though there would certainly be rocky instances in the future, for earth it seemed that there could never be perfect harmony, but for a moment, it was perfect. And everything was going to be okay, we were okay, and the future was unknown, but with Connor at my side, and both of us closer to Hank than I had ever hoped for, I knew that we would be okay in this absolutely crazy world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed <3


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